The Mortal Coil
by ClockworkContessa
Summary: AU Q/Janeway. What if Janeway had taken up Q's offer. After Q and the Grey.
1. Q to Continue

Q had been pursuing the captain for days now in his attempts to make her fall to his desires though she was far brighter than he might like to think. She knew he was hiding something, despite everything coming back to his desires to procreate with her Janeway knew it wasn't that simple. He wasn't after her because he was lonely and he wasn't looking to have a child with her because he only wanted a family. She had refused him around every corner, shut down his every attempt to win her affections. She wouldn't be some little toy on the end of a string he controlled like a puppet. Eventually Q would have to realize she wasn't going to play along with his game and he would just leave her alone. At least that had been her hope before he had transported her here to the continuum. Everything finally fell into place and made perfect sense. The supernovas, his puerile attempt at seducing her, even his little friend who had insulted her. The continuum was at war and it was Q's fault, her fault. She had assisted Quinn in his suicide even if it had been her intentions to keep him alive after giving him sanctuary on her ship. Now Captain Kathryn Janeway had to face up to her own mistakes and find a sensible way back to her crew and ship before the supernova's destroyed it all.

Q felt heavy in her arms while she pulled him away from the colonial styled home, his feet dragging behind her as she half carried him and half tried to encourage him to walk. With every step he was falling in and out of consciousness. The blood was running down his shoulder onto his chest staining the white shirt he had worn under his union officers uniform. For a time she had managed to hide him in the woods, or at least what Kathryn perceived as the woods. Once the Q's dressed in their grey uniforms had moved on and set the colonial home to flames she burdened the male Q's weight again and drug him down to what appeared to be an encampment for his own faction. She was able to carry him a little closer to one of the fires before letting him down. Brushing a hand over her forehead Janeway let out a sigh knowing she had to stop the bleeding in his shoulder. After everything he had done to her, chased her around her ship, disrespected her in front of her crew, taking her away from Voyager when they needed her Kathryn still had the heart to help a man like Q when he was down.

Kneeling down at his side she ripped her skirt up, luckily the natural fabric was weak and with even just a sharp edge of a rock could be cut up. Looking over the wound it seemed whatever weapon had been used on him had burned clean through his shoulder and left an exit wound on the other side making it much easier to clean up and bandage. Dabbing away the blood with a wet cloth from a bowl beside her she looked over at his face, his expression changing as though he could feel the pain. Pulling back on the pressure she applied to the wound Janeway couldn't help but smile a little, a small satisfaction to know that as all powerful as he might be he was still like anyone else. He could be wounded, he could bleed, he could feel pain, perhaps then he could express and even understand other 'mortal' emotions. That hope was the only thing she could use to return to Voyager and perhaps even find a better solution to ending this war other than having a baby with him. "Kathy." The sound of the mumbling voice pulled her from her thoughts while Q muttered her name and turned his head to the other side. For a moment she thought he had come to. "Kathy."

Grabbing his hand a feeling of sympathy overcame her, even Q an omnipotent being was reduced to this. "I'm here Q, it's alright."

"Kathy, I'm sorry." He whimpered almost like a bashful little boy and nearly rolled over onto his wounded shoulder. Grabbing him quickly Janeway rested him back against the ground and ran a clean rag over his forehead. Time passed while she worked on his shoulder and tied it off to stop the bleeding. With a final tug on the scraps of fabric to help cut off circulation to his injury Q finally woke up nearly flipping over the bowl of hot water beside him. "What, where are we?"

Ringing out the rag one last time she shook her hand and brushed the water from her dress. "One of your factions encampments. I hid you from the search party as long as I could when I saw what appeared to be your men retreating from the battlefield. I followed them here and from the looks of it you are not on the winning side."

Sitting up more she handed him a cup of water. "Maybe not the wining side but the right side and I'd rather be on the right side than the wrong side." Q took a sip almost choking on it before handing her the cup again. "So, have you made up your mind yet? Shall we end this war with our little union?"

Again he was pushing the subject and still she couldn't see why he felt having a baby now would help this war raging on in the continuum. "I'm sorry Q but I don't see how a baby is going to stop this war. Most of all why you would have even asked me. As you said you could have chosen anyone and yet you came to me. Why?"

A little smirk came to his face at her questions. Humans, always needing an answer, something to lead them to some truer meaning, to some hidden motive. The world wasn't so simple though, sometimes things were not as simple as they thought they might be. "Oh Kathryn isn't it obvious by now? You are after all involved in this more than any other human. It was your choice to take Quinn in, an act that lead to his death and the outrage in the continuum. Besides as I have said only a perfect union can change the continuum for the better. My omnipotence and your compassion, your love, your nobility. You have all the qualities I needed."

"So do other people, other humans, even others in my crew." Janeway spoke back tilting her head to the side as if she didn't notice the change of tone in his voice. He was still hiding something from her. Yes she might have been involved more so than others because of the situation with Quinn but how was a baby with her going to fix that? Or perhaps this was his idea of punishing her, seeing if her pants really did 'fit'.

"Yes and that might be true but those other people are not you Kathryn. I could explain but I don't think you could follow so I'll leave it this way. You are a scientist and an explorer and what I am offering you is the world and all it's mysteries. Could you imagine, the universe would be the playground you and our child could explore together. To know what no other human can know, to see what no other human could see. One would think a woman like you would jump at the opportunity."

"I admit it's a tempting offer but I'm still the captain of Voyager and I have a duty to uphold."

Q laughed at her mention of duty, one of the qualities he admired about his dear Kathryn Janeway. "You know I could send you home if you agreed."

"No thank you, my crew and I can manage ourselves, without your help."

Again he smiled turning his head and laughing, "You are stubborn Kathy, a trait I admire in you just like your intellect and strength. You know when I first met you I could hardly imagine a woman with your 'spunk'. Just as bold as Picard but a little more, 'pleasing' to the eyes. That night I showed up in your bedroom and tried to bribe you, which I admit was a dirty trick, I had never known a woman, a being faced with the possibilities I had offered you to simply turn them down like you had. I had never been told to 'get out' of a bed either."

"So is that what this is about? I somehow bruised your ego?" She narrowed her eyes feeling that might be a typical move for him.

"No Kathy it wasn't my ego you bruised only my heart."

Now she was the one laughing at him. "Your heart, your lying." It had crossed her mind that he was, that he was playing with her again. She couldn't trust him but that almost hurt look on her face made her sit back and observe him once more in a new light. "Besides Q did you ever think about how I might feel to have a child taken away to be raised in the continuum?"

He jumped back quickly to defend himself and correct her misguided image of what would come to follow. After all with this current line of questioning it made him wonder if she was actually considering his offer now. "Oh Kathy I wouldn't dream of taking our child away from you. After all who would raise it then? Look after it? Teach it about your high and mighty Starfleet ideas? I wouldn't have time to chase the little tike around the universe. I'm a busy man."

"So your idea was to just abandon us then? You can't do that Q, you can't just abandon a child and you can't have a family without love. I don't love you Q and you know you don't love me. A baby would be a mistake, they don't just need DNA to become good people they need parents. Parents willing to teach them about that love and compassion you so badly want to have your child take on."

Maybe she was right, he was going about this the wrong way. Acting before he really took the time to understand the 'complex' dynamic of a human family. "So then you can teach me. Teach me to be the person our child would need."

Again she laughed him off, clearly his grasp at understanding humans was far less than he liked to believe. "I can't just teach you to be a good parent Q. You have to find that out on your own."

"Well then you humans have a funny way of going about courtship and mating." He grumbled and flinched as she tried to set his arm up in a sling. "And you were wrong Kathy, about me, not having shall we say feelings for you. Maybe I don't know what love is the way you humans understand it but take into consideration. I could watch the dawn of time and history, I could contemplate the meaning of of existence and factor out the outcome of thousands of new civilizations and yet I find since I met you parts of my mind bogged down by thoughts of you. Perhaps it's not the fast heart beat, falling out of control you humans experience but for a Q do I dare say this could be love?"

It was clear his confession hadn't reassured her as he wanted it to. It had frightened her. Almost in a panic she ripped another piece of her hemmed skirt off and held it up for him to see. "Well why you do that I am going to end your war. I am taking this white flag and marching over to that camp to negotiate..."

She was cut off when Q grabbed her hand. "I can't let you do that, I can't let you be a hero Kathy. If you walked over there they would kill you. I can forgive myself if all i do is make you dislike me, even hate me but if something happened to you. that Kathy I could never forgive myself for, especially when I could have avoided it or worse caused it. I'll take you back to Voyager if that is what you want. No more tricks, no more games. If I should perish in this war then I would hope you would remember a dying mans last wishes, remember me fondly and remember we will always have Paris."

"Paris?" She quirked a brow up a little confused what her pilot had to do with this.

"Yes, I like him. He's cocky." As much as she wanted to comment on him she just shook her head and smiled. If he meant to send her back to Voyager then she would be at least know Paris and the others would be alright. However that didn't stop what was happening here and the fact it was affecting her world as well.

"As much as I would love to take up your offer to go back to Voyager you are right. I'm involved in this war now and I can't just ignore it. It still has to end."

"And how do you intend to end it benevolent Captain Janeway?"

"Their must be another way Q." Perhaps work over some terms for surrender, each side could come to an agreement, they could discuss the current issues. Perhaps it wouldn't change over night but in time each side could be happy.

"I have told you Kathy, either we shake the continuum to it's core or I die. Those are my only options."

"Those may be your only options but they are not mine. You want the seeds of human compassion to send the ripples through the continuum. So lets start those ripples now."

"Right here, right now?" Q smiled and raised his brow with that cocky grin of his. "Oh Kathy and I haven't even bought you dinner yet."

"That's not what I am talking about Q, come on get up. We are going to pay the other camp a visit on a terms for peace."


	2. End a War

Kathryn was escorted up to the tent where the general Q had been waiting while Q laid low still nursing the injury on his arm. She was so convinced she could do something to change the generals mind but in the end she just couldn't understand Q was marked for death as far as the others were concerned. Still he was giving her this chance and if things didn't turn out for the better he would get her out of there. He still didn't know what her plan was but he was trusting her. More than she might ever do for him. Time past by quickly when he realized her 'plan' hadn't worked out and it was time to be heroic. Prove his undying love for her by not dying and swooping in for the rescue. That might change her mind for the better then. Getting up from his hiding position he tried sneaking around the back of the tent the general had ushered her inside. Rolling up one of his sleeves he prepared for his dashing heroics only to hear the click of a Q weapon behind him. "I surrender." Q held up his hands to show he wasn't a danger to his foes. So maybe this rescue hadn't gone according to plan.

Just as they started walking his beloved little captain out from the tent Q was walked over with his sly smile and giving her a look as though he could still get them out of this. The least he could do was keep her hope alive even if they were both doomed. The general only added to his fear by announcing they were both to be executed. Even with the desire to tell her he had told her this would happen it just wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Going to his grave and his last words would have been negative towards Kathryn, that wouldn't be the way he wanted it to end. "So this was apart of your plan then? If so I am curious to know what we are going to do after they kill us. You have to admit it's a little romantic dying side by side, together."

Being her typical noble self she tried one last attempt to change the minds of the Q who would send them to their deaths, all Q could do was turn to her and smile. What fire, what passion, what determination. It was a shame it would all be for nothing now. Their child would have changed the continuum forever, been the element it had always been missing. Now they would go out with a bang. Inspired by her own sentimental speech Q himself tried to get her out of this situation, to save her life and yet again his words were ignored. With the starting of the drums Q turned to her feeling the guilt. He hadn't wanted to pull her into this, to be the cause of her death. "I'm sorry." Q spoke softly to her.

"I know." With the end of the drum line Q cringed and heard the firing of riffles. He cried out in pain what he thought would be his dying words only to hear her dark calming voice yell at him. "Q, they're not firing at us." Looking around the crew of Voyager came out to untie their beloved captain and left him behind as they filled her in on how they had arrived. Rather than suck up to his female counterpart as she approached to reprimand him Q turned his attention back to Janeway.

"A little help here?" He leaned sideways trying to reach his hands out to show he was still very much restrained and tied to a post. Though she wanted nothing more than to leave him tied up they still had a war to end. Pulling the rope away from his wrists she held him up a little and let him find his feet again before tracking down the general.

"Q, if you want to end this war now feel free to do so. I have a feeling they are in a position to listen now."

"Thank you Kathryn, I owe you."

Back at the ship Janeway was happy to sit in her room alone with a cup of coffee in her hands. Everything seemed to be back to normal now and her hopes Q had come to a better peaceful agreement was starting to look like a comfortable reality. Taking a sip from her cup she gazed out the window hearing that familiar whimper from the day before when Q had used a puppy to try and win her affection. Sitting up she followed the whimpering to her door and watching it slid open with Q standing there, the golden colored pup in his arms. "Before you tell me to get out or leave I just wanted to let you know I have decided to be respectful and leave you alone. However I wanted to give you this, consider it a thank you Kathy. You can tell me how repulsed you are by me but I know you are lonely here on this end of the Delta quadrant away from your family and friends. Perhaps he can help to ease the pain. It's the least I can do, I ask for nothing in return." Before she could try to ask him if he had a hidden agenda again he plopped the pup off in her arms with a smile. "I also want you to know the others have agreed with my approach with how to change the continuum for the best of every Q. I am also happy to tell you that you are off the hook Miss Kathryn. I know when I am not wanted, I will find someone else who is a more willing participant even though well, it won't be the same."

The puppy wagged it's tail happily and licked at the captains face as Q gave it a pat on the head. "By the way I took the liberty of naming the little guy Rowley. I know he will never be the same as your pooch back on earth but maybe he can give you something I couldn't. Some feeling of family here."

"He's lovely Q, thank you." She stroked the pup lightly and gave him a little hug. His wet tongue slopping over her face again. With a smile she set the pup down and placed her hands on her hips. "What do you mean by it won't be the same?"

Q looked down acting a little like a shy boy not wanting to look her in the eyes. "Well, someone told me recently you can't just have a child. You can't abandon them and expect them to turn out how you want them to. I know better now, I'll take on the responsibility as a father for my little tyke but I also know you can't have a family without love. No matter who will decide to raise a child with me, well it won't be a family built out of love. Not when I already have those feelings for someone else and she's indifferent about me. I don't blame her, I wouldn't trust myself either after how dishonest I have been with her."

She couldn't just let him off the hook, forgive him, let down her guard because he was right. She had no reason to trust him even now but some part of her despite her better judgment did. "You are right, you can't have a family without love Q, you can't raise a child in a loveless environment and I'm afraid I just don't have those feelings for you." It was the reassurance he had been looking for from here. Even with his honesty he hadn't been able to win her and so he knew he was bested. Kathryn was truly the impossible thing he could never have but he would always admire her. Just as eh turned to leave her alone Janeway put her hand down and leaned against the doorway. "Of course you should also know by now humans can have a change of heart. If you really feel this way about her perhaps give her a little time. Let her know you are honest about your feelings, sincere, that this isn't some phase you are going through and perhaps she might just change her mind about you. I don't think she would want you to give up on something you believe is real. You just might get your family built around love after all. The idea of a real family, of real love might be more appealing to her."

A shimmer of hope flickered in his eyes as he stepped forward wanting to grab her and pull her into the hallway but instead Q paused and gazed at Kathryn like an excited school boy on his first day of summer break. "Well in that case I can't give up can I. I'll come back tomorrow to help with Rowley. Help him settle in anyways. He's a good pup Kathy, loyal and with a good heart even if he likes to cause trouble. You'll love him."

"I hope I do."


	3. The Trouble with Tribbles er um Puppies

The main problem with having a puppy on a starfleet ship was not having anywhere for the dog to potty without fear of making a mess. A cat was more logical since they could use a litter box but a dog wasn't as practical. All the same Janeway wasn't a cat person. She had grown up with dogs, loved dogs for their loyalty and intelligence, and besides Q had given her the puppy. Aside from the occasional accident and her attempts to set up a good potty place for her new friend Rowley was very interested in chewing anything that had corners or an edge. In fact he would chew on the walls if someone wasn't watching him and the troubles didn't end there. Only a few days with the puppy and he was already very attached to his new 'mommy' as Q liked to call her. He whimpered and howled when she was away and then got so excited when she came back her pants ended up taking the full assault of excitable puppy piddles. Trying to escape her quarters without the puppy falling after her into the hallway and growling at her crew Janeway was trying to distract him with one of the chew toys she had acquired. So far she had spent a weeks worth of replicator rations on puppy toys to keep Rowley occupied. Her next week was just filled with Neelix's cooking and honestly she wasn't too excited about it.

As Rowley turned around to chase after his chew toy he picked it up and before Janeway could get her door closed he was hot on her heels scampering after her with a happy yip. "Rowley you have to stay in there. I have to get to the bridge and puppies are not allowed." Happily he dropped the toy at her feet wagging his tail and opening his maw with a wide doggy smile. She couldn't yell at him but she couldn't let him behave like this either. Resting her hands on her hips she knew she couldn't declare defeat because of a puppy. "And Q thinks we have time for a baby on Voyager. I hardly have time for you." Janeway was trying to keep her voice down knowing if she mentioned the b word Q would show up with his own version of puppy eyes. It was her own fault for giving him hope, she could have delivered one final crushing blow and never seen him again. Instead he clung to her ship and crew like his life depended on it. In fact he was here so often she was even giving him tasks, one of them being cleaning out the warp plasma filters. He seemed willing enough to give it a try and it got him out of her hair for a few seconds at best.

Just like clockwork from behind her that little spark of light created the familiar figure dressed up in a now slightly more dirty looking red starfleet uniform. "Is your biological clock finally ticking Kathy or are you just so overwhelmed with your need to be with me you can't even stand it anymore. Wait don't answer that question." He joked before looking down at the puppy. "Aww, look at your little boy already doing his best to please his mommy."

"I'm not his mommy Q and I have to be on the bridge." She scoffed before picking up the toy and throwing it for Rowley to chase down again. "Are you spying on me?"

"Define spying? No don't. I just so happened to be on my way back to tell you the warp plasma filters are clean as can be. By the way Kathy don't be so down. Of course we would have time for a baby, any good parents make time for their children. Besides when you are busy playing a big important captain strutting around your beloved bridge I can always keep the little tyke occupied with say a trip to a forming nebula or perhaps even a field trip to a red giant on the brink of death. It would be educational and a bonding experience."

She raised a brow a little disturbed by his excitement to taking a baby into dangerous environments. "You would take a baby close to a dying red giant? A half human baby?"

"Of course. Why what is wrong with that?" He still didn't know how vulnerable humans were and even if they did have this supposed baby and it was half Q it could still end up with possible life threatening injuries. Janeway found herself oddly sick to her stomach about a person that didn't even exist. Still if it was her child as well he would be taking their baby into those situations only over her dead body.

"Nothing is wrong just don't expect the poor thing to ever see it's first birthday." Rowley came prancing back and dropping the toy back at her feet with his same excited yip. Bending over to pick it up again he bounced around waiting for her to throw it for him.

"Well then when we have the kid we can discus our parenting methods together. By the way I have something for Rowley down in your little Hydroponics bay. A small side project I have been working on as a little show of just how capable and responsible I really am. Afterwards I'll look after your little boy for you so you can run around with your little friends." He took her hand in his a little excited about this secret he had put together for the puppy. Even Rowley seemed curious about what Q was up to, no longer holding his attention on Janeway and his chew toy he pranced after Q and yapped at him. "See your son is excited about it too." He joked partially dragging her behind him. If he would keep to his word and look after the puppy then today she just might get something of value done. At that point it was the only reason she was giving in to him and not just pulling away to head back towards the bridge. As they got closer to the turbo lift Q picked up Rowley and attempted to cover Janeway's eyes only to have her swat his hand away.

"What's the matter Kathy? You don't like surprises?"

"Not from you." She shot back before the turbo lift stopped.

"Debby downer." He snapped back at her and grabbed her hand again dragging her down the hall towards the bay they had hydroponics set up. When the door slid open she looked around not really seeing anything different until one of the far walls caught her attention. It was a decent sized area of nothing but grass with a small little pool of water just big enough for a dog to play around and be a dog. "Since you can't really take the puppy outside without sending him into space I felt Fido needed a proper space all his own to do his business and get out his energy without taking out your crew members. Besides it shows just how good I am at providing. You have to admit something deep down inside you is a little excited by a man who can provide a nice lawn for you in the middle of the Delta quadrant."

He set Rowley down allowing the pup to run off and sniff the grass. At first he jumped back doing a play bow and barking at the grass not really certain what to make of it. After all unlike dogs from earth he hadn't even known the outside world. In fact he hadn't existed until Q snapped him into existing. Once eh was certain the grass wouldn't attack him he jumped down on top of it and went into a full roll wagging his tail and panting heavily. His eyes wide with excitement as he ran about the space claiming as his own. It brought a smile to Janeway's face to see the pup act like her own dog had when she was a younger dog. So full of energy and exploring every new site and smell with her healthy curiosity. "That is very kind of you Q, I am sure Rowley couldn't have asked for more but I really do need to get to the bridge and you promised to look after him for me. So if you don't mind." Giving him a pat on the back Q slumped over a little having expected more than that. Not even a little peck on the cheek?

"I'll take good care of him until you are done. Won't take my eye off him." He had to do better, he had to show her he could both provide for her and look after a small creature with unpredictable behavioral patterns. Something hyper that typically gets into trouble if left alone. With his less than plucky owner walking away the little pup lost his interest in the fun new turf and tried following Janeway again only to be caught by Q. Holding the pup up he raised a brow and studied the little furry beast. "Alright Rowley now hear me out. You are going to be on your best behavior while your captain is working so you can prove to her I'm a worthy choice of mate." The pup panted and looked back at Q seeming none too concerned he was the person who had created him. The pup let out a big yawn and narrowed his eyes seeming a bit more relaxed than he should have been. It took Q a moment before eh realized the little fur ball was unleashing a stream of urine on him. Once he had caught on he held the puppy out and tried jumping out of the way growling at the little beast. "Oh I see who's side you are on you ungrateful mutt." For a moment he was tempted to snap the puppy back into oblivion and conjure up a new one. Janeway wouldn't have known the difference, yet the stupid fuzzball just whimpered and looked up at Q with his sad little eyes. "Oh, oh alright. I get it, you can stay. After all." He paused flipping the puppy on his back and holding him like a baby. "You are a cute little devil. Just don't make me look too bad in front of your captain and I promise I'll make sure you get 100 wonderful years to stay faithfully by her side. Not many dogs get that luxury you know."

Squirming in his arms Rowley fell to his feet and started dashing down the hall to the turbo lift. Q stood a moment in his place clenching his fists and wondering if the dog was doing this on purpose. "How about 100 years of rare steak to go along with that first one? A doggy dish made of gold? A dog bed with a silk cover? Female French poodles?" Q chased him down the hall still trying to reason with the mongrel. "First I need to give you higher functioning cognitive abilities so you can understand my propositions."

Spending the better half of the day running after the puppy Q ended up passed out on Janeways bed curled up with Rowley by his side. The puppy tucked under his arm as the two laid cozy on the comforter. After her long day of discussing and planning out what their next moves were in their journey home Janeway only wanted to lay her head down and get some sleep. She was a little surprised to find Q spooned up with Rowley on her bed when she told the computer to bring the lights up. Q hadn't even noticed she was there yet and Rowley was more than content to keep quiet. Lifting his head up a little the puppy blinked his eyes and yawned stretching his back legs and giving a puppy smile to his master. "Well look at you Rowley, did you kill Q?" The puppy wagged his tail slowly trying to be covert so as not to wake the sleeping Q. Walking over to the edge of the bed Janeway sat down and lifted the puppy into her lap giving him a little hug and scratching him behind the ears. "What do you think about him Rowley? Do you think he would be a reliable father?"

The pup licked her face and rolled over onto his back in her arms tossing his head back towards Q and motioning as if he would start barking. "I know, he's hopeless, unreliable, cocky, irritating, troublesome, and honestly I have had a headache since he showed up but at the same time, well maybe it's just wishful thinking but I feel like he's putting in the effort to improve." Janeway paused and bounced the puppy on her knee looking away from Q to the widow over behind her bed. "Maybe it's just me trying to be optimistic but a baby couldn't be all that bad if it's for good cause. Creating peace in the continuum, having someone like Q on our side in the event of trouble though I can't say how much he would be allowed to intervene." Letting out a little sigh she set the pup back down on her bed and cocked her head to the side. "Just don't tell him I'm considering his request just yet. I don't need him thinking he's winning anything. You can keep a secret can't you?" The puppy stretched again and bowed wagging his tail. "Good boy, now where am I going to sleep tonight?" She patted Rowley on the head. "The ready room it is."

Standing back up she hadn't noticed Q open one of his eyes as she walked back to the door with the puppy following behind her. A little smirk stretching across his face. Maybe the pup wouldn't tell him her little secret but he didn't need to pup to know where Janeway was standing on his offer. He just had to keep doing what he was doing, earn her trust, keep his promises, impress her and show sincerity. Most of all he couldn't screw up now being so close to his goal. Instead he stayed on the bed thinking it over in his head how he would proceed from this point on. Cautiously of course, one small slip and he would lose a lot of ground. Ground he might never get back again. Rolling onto his back and rested an arm behind his head and considered all the important things he would have to focus on now. Most importantly what they would have to expect with a little hybrid running around. Turning back to his side he looked over to her end table and the little picture of Janeway with her dog on earth and that less than impressive fiance of hers, Mark something.

Picking up the picture Q smirked a little sending a flash over the image, the place of Mark was replaced with an image of himself, the dog looking a little more masculine to replace her earth dog with an adult looking Rowley. It seemed the dog would eventually grow up from that awkward big pawed pup into a fairly nodal looking creature suiting of his elegant master and his regal creator. With a nod of satisfaction Q's sly smile shifted into one of sincerity before fading again with another flash of light over the photo. Behind Kathryn was a rather dashing looking young boy with his arm around one of Q's shoulders and a hand on Rowley's head sporting his fathers classic smirk. "On second thought." Q mussed sending another flash over the picture frame so the child had more of his 'mothers' smile. "Perfect." That was his one last hurdle, Mark. Kathy still had feelings for the mortal. Her fiance back on earth. Since he had come to stay around the ship and it's crew he had seen her looking longingly at this same photo. Maybe it was the reason he was so satisfied with replacing it with his own image of his perfect family. As much as he wanted to leave it as he had made it now Q couldn't. Despite Janeway clinging to the small hope she would make it home to Mark he couldn't take that little thing that made her happy. Rolling his eyes the picture flashed again and went back to the way it had been before. One day he wouldn't have to be the one to change the photo. The point was making her realize that picture wasn't her life anymore, something better was waiting for her.


	4. Q for 2

He was quiet when he entered the ready room seeing her laying there, the photo in his hand. She was laid down on one of the sofa's in her ready room, Rowley curled up beside her as she slept so soundly. Q stepped back looking away a moment and feeling a little strange to just be watching her quietly but he couldn't help it. She looked so, perfect, pure, beautiful. He wanted to clear his throat, move the lump that was forming there and causing him discomfort. The tightness in his chest building as he stood there in a trance. The first time she had looked at him that defiance, that overwhelming fearlessness and told him to get out he had felt the same tightness in his chest. Her ability to challenge him in a way other humans hadn't. Not even Picard. Though the proper captain back in the Alpha quadrant was still one of his favorite people and his personal favorite pet project he still didn't conjure those same strange sensations she could. Her angry glare made him shiver with something other than fear, her smile made his feel like her could fly, and her looks of frustration made him excitable. To the core Kathryn Janeway was his biggest problem and weakness and perhaps that was why he was drawn to her.

Quietly he crossed the room setting the picture down next on a table next to her and pushing a lock of her light auburn locks away from her face ever so careful not to wake her up. "Kathryn, are you sleeping?" He kept his voice quiet just in case she was. Still dressed up in her uniform without so much as a blanket he couldn't imagine she was too comfortable right now. Without snapping his fingers he conjured up a blanket pulling it up over his shoulders and finding it strange she was such a heavy sleeper. Either that or he was stealthier than he thought. "I must admit Kathryn I haven't been completely honest with you. I'm selfish, I have only been thinking about myself but for the first time I am starting to think about someone else. About you and what would make you happy. I know you gave me hope you would come around to liking me but I know what it's like to have these sort of feelings for someone and I know you feel those feelings for someone else. As much as I would love to make you forget about the, 'other' man I don't want to make you feel like it's your only option. I'd rather you come to me at your own free will not because I am the only option you have." He was happy she was sleeping right now, she didn't need to know how sensitive he was. What would people say if they knew the almighty Q was vulnerable.

Patting her on the shoulder he smiled. "But I had a little peek at what we could look like together, and our family. Even if I never get that I'll always know one thing. Our child would have the nicest hair in the universe." Q sighed. "That and with your eyes and smile he would be able to get any girl he would want. Handsome little devil." As much as he wanted to bleed out his heart a little more he just didn't have the time to waste on this pointless endeavor anymore. Turning to leave the ready room Q paused and turned back to see her sitting up now. "Kathy?" He was a little alarmed, had he woken her? Had she heard him?

"You're not the only one who's good at pretending to be asleep." She smirked almost imitating his own sly cocky grin. What a clever little she devil his Kathy was, he admired her own manipulative side.

"So, you heard what I said then?" Q tried to play it off and act calm rather than drop to his knees and beg her to just humor him. "I was honest about everything for the record. No game, no hidden agenda."

"I know Q." The way she had spoken those words with that dark sultry tone made him feel funny again.

"So, are you going to yell at me then?" He kept his eyes locked on hers trying to read her. More so he could run before something was tossed at him.

"No." That short answer was in that same questionable tone of voice and honestly now it made him feel a little hot under the collar. Like he was suffocating in his clothes.

"Do you want me to get out?"

"No." Now she really had him startled, clearing his throat he pulled on his collar and looked away unable to keep eye contact anymore. Was she going to slap him? Sisko had hit him before and it hadn't been a pleasant experience. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Q stepped forward, part of him wanting to launch himself into her arms and the other half of him wanting to turn tail and run. This is what mortal men must have felt like. "Just talk?" Janeway raised her brow making him wonder if they were going to just be talking. Sheepishly he sat down next to her and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders while Rowley got up and moved to the other end so he could continue to sleep in peace. "Listen Kathy I know I'm not your idea of a perfect man, I'm flawed, you made it clear and I don't want to be your only option."

"I know, I heard what you were saying, everything. You want me to have a life I can look back on and be happy. Not something I would regret correct?"

"I suppose that was what I was saying. I understand Kathy just look at me, hardly a suitable mate. You are a stunning woman you could have anyone on this ship, Chuckles, that Paris boy, even Kim if you like them young. Then there is the chance you do make it home in time before Mark moves on without you. You two already are starting a family in a way. You two are having puppies, or your dog is having puppies. I would know I molded Rowley off of your dog back home, tried to make him look like a possible outcome from her litter. You don't need me and I don't want you to think you need me."

He arched his back when she placed her hand on his, a sweet charming and rather sincere smile crossing her face. "I know, but I need you right now." Q almost jumped up and pointed at her slightly dazed and confused, ready to yell at this stranger before him and demand where the real Kathryn Janeway was and what this impostor had done with her. "I was guarded around you, understandably. I can't trust you Q, or at least I thought I couldn't but I know my guard is down now, I am starting to see another side of you and perhaps it's the real side you keep hidden away." She paused squeezing his hand in hers. "Or maybe you are just playing with me but I am tired of feeling guilty, of trying to stay faithful to someone I don't know if I'll ever see again. To someone I started losing my loyalty to and keep trying to convince myself something from it can be saved. I am tired of begin alone and having to make the choice to be alone because I have to look after everyone else here. I can't let my heart get swept up into something that might make me a less reliable leader to them. This crew needs me, Voyager needs me."

Q rested a hand on her leg giving it a slight squeeze, he knew she would always pick her crew, her ship over everything else and she was right when she said she was responsible for them and had to put them first. "I have to hope, I have to believe that this won't be my only legacy. Captain Kathryn Janeway, brought the first starfleet vessel to the Delta quadrant and back again. I want to get us home but to miss everything else in my life? The things I could have had? When I was home I had so much more in store for me, I was engaged, thinking about having a family, having children with Mark but out here I don't have that to look forward to anymore. All I have to look forward to is trying to get us home. The struggles we will have to face and the difficult choices I will have to make and already have made. And this might be all I have left. Can you imagine the burden I have to carry?"

The more she talked the more she felt bad for her, he wished he could keep his promise to send her home, reunite her with Mark but he was already on thin ice in the continuum and had yet to keep his promise to the others. If he did that he might be the next one to be 'erased'. Was it worth to be erased so he could send her home? Yes. "Kathy, I told you I could send you home, when I made the promise the first time I was in the position within the continuum to do so. I don't think I have that trust, that freedom now but if that will be my last living action I can send you home now. All of Voyager, my last gift to you. Damn if they fire at me point blank for it, it would be worth it to me."

"No Q, getting home, that's a journey I have to make myself. I can't ask you to do that for me with the risk." Her expression turned to a solemn one realizing her rather grim fate out here.

"Then don't let this be the only legacy you leave behind Kathryn. Let your legacy echo through space and time until the end of eternity." He was a little bold leaning forward and kissing her. At first he expected nothing but retaliation from her, a swift slap to the face, at the very least to be pushed away but right now he wasn't getting that. Rather than continue to push her any further he thought of how he might be taking advantage of her situation and pulled away. Q wanted to win her not break her nor cage her. His victory wouldn't prove as satisfying if that were the case. "I'm sorry." He whispered trying to move away from her only to have her wrap a hand around the back of his neck.

"I'm not." She whispered back, her lips almost brushing his ear.

Q got up quickly faster than he thought possible for a physical body to move. This was going quickly into something completely out of his control. How uncomfortable. "Is this happening or are you lulling me into a false sense of security so you can bludgeon me with a blunt object and dump me off your ship."

"What, are you afraid?" Was she challenging him? He had never been more attracted to her than he was right then.

"Is this really what you want? Me, being lost out here in unknown territory, this...baby?" Again he wasn't going to just use her even if it completed his own goals. Sleep with the captain of the voyager, check. Make baby with the captain of Voyager, check. Seduce the captain of Voyager, check check. Make the captain of Voyager love him...check?

"Only if you promise to be there every step of the way and don't run at the first sign of trouble or when you get bored of a normal dull family life." Q grinned and looked over at Rowley. Snapping his fingers the puppy vanished.

"He's okay I just put him in your quarters. I get nervous with an audience." Walking back over to her Q felt a wave of satisfaction as he sat back down and wrapped his arms around her, his grin never fading for a moment. "Do you want me to snap us in a bed?"

"Who needs a bed, where we are going Q we don't need beds." She cocked a brow and pressed her lips into him. His heart racing with excitement from her dark tone.

"Oh, naughty girl. I like this side of you, I hope I get to see it a little more." Q kissed her back pushing her down against the sofa and propping himself over her. His fingers working to open up her red coat and push it off her shoulders. She seemed to have the same idea as she slipped her soft delicate hands into his own jacket and got it off him with a speed in grace that was almost shocking for the reserved prude woman he had come to think of as Kathryn Janeway. Once his jacket was off she pulled his shirt beneath it off and rested a hand against his chest while he leaned in to kiss her again. "Be gentle with my Kathryn it's my first time." As sultry as he tried to make that he was afraid to let her know it was the truth. Q had been all talk up until now, his kind didn't do these sort of physical things. Certainly he enjoyed wining women over and making them want him but did he actually bother with the poor lowly beings? No, he was above the physical, however for her he would make the exception. She intrigued him, he was curious to know what the desires of the flesh were like.

"Me too." She joked back with him helping him remove her own shirt and discarding it on the floor beside them. "Boldly going where no starfleet captain has gone before." She smiled and pressed her lips back into his getting swept away in another kiss. Q wanted to make a witty comment but his ability to make a remark vanished as they got lost in each others taste. His hand sliding down along her side and grabbing her rear. She broke their kiss first shuttering a little as she took in a shaky breath.

"Oh Kathy it has been a while hasn't it." Q felt a little more cocky but just as confused as before to what exactly he was suppose to start doing. Nuzzling the side of her neck he placed a few tender kissed on her moving down to her shoulder. "So to not get too sidetracked from the purpose of this encounter, even though knowing how ridged you have been you could use it." For a very brief second the mood was ruined, the look on her face said everything and Q was desperately trying to bring the mood back up to that happy euphoric place they had come down from. "I mean I have a question for you, since we are about to going to be exploring the act of reproduction with each other. Do you have a particular preference for gender. Being omnipotent I can in fact decide the gender of our baby unlike humans."

Maybe talking about the baby they didn't have yet wasn't helping his situation any more. Maybe it was better if he stopped the stalling and got to the making. still Janeway humored him even if she was a slight bit frustrated with him now. "It doesn't really matter to me, surprise me I suppose. That's half the fun is not really knowing though with you I think I can make an educated guess on what you will be picking."

Curling one of her arms around him he placed a kiss on her collar bone and looked at her with a devilish smile. "I don't know Kathryn I just might surprise you." He pressed his lips back against her neck running his hand back along her side and grabbing onto her hip. Holding here there for a moment he focused on making sure she would actually be ready and not just make this a dry run process. Human reproduction was so moody, women went in and out of fertility to quiet in the human species you just never knew when it was best to copulate. Most of them just ran around stabbing in the dark, literally. Luckily he had the ability to manipulate that so there was less stabbing in the dark and more hitting the center of the target. Rushing her cycle ahead a little so she was at peak fertility and thus Q junior had the best chance of claiming today as the official first day of their little life long journey.

Moving down along her body he placed kissed along her stomach trying to figure out where nature was going to be taking him now on this new journey of his. Janeway was making it both easier and harder for him. Easier because she was bringing out a more primitive side the Q had outgrown billions of years ago. Harder because he couldn't logically work through some of this situation with those sexy little faced she was making and that distracting little moaning sound she made when she liked something he was doing. It almost made him want to cover her mouth and tell her to be very quiet before she made him panic. Slipping her pants over her hips he thought he was making decent enough progress now. One of her long lovely legs raising up so he was perched between them. So far so good, though the speed was clearly too slow for her, a more experience member in their two person tango. She reached her hand down the front of his pants grabbing a hold of him and making him almost shy away. As much as the logical part of his mind said run for your life, this is beneath you so too did the other part of his mind reminding him that the only thing really beneath him was her. Those odds seemed much nicer.

Once he told more logical 'evolved' Q to take the back seat things got a little less cumbersome. Pulling down on his own pants he pulled her hips in closer to his own and placed a kiss on her lips again. Following his most basic of urges he reveled in the warmth of her body against his and pushed up into her letting out a satisfied growl at her tender little moan. It didn't even cross his mind then on what he had to do, his pace started out unsteady showing his inexperience, something she was picking up on with a quick look at him and the raise of one of her brows. "Does it surprise you Kathy? I said it was my first time. Q's don't commonly give into basic animal urges like you humans." Trying to smooth out his rhythm he felt a a new rush of excitement come over him, her silent judgment replaced with another breathy moan. If she kept doing that he would lose his concentration again. It wasn't even the sensation of being with her that was making his head feel foggy, it was her little faces she made, the little sounds she did. A strange sensation built up in his chest as his pace speed up and those little faces she made turned into a real problem. With the speed up of each thrust Kathy leaned her head back nearly falling half way off the sofa and forcing him to partially hold her up so she wouldn't slip out of his grip and he out of hers.

Kathy seemed well lost in the rapture of their little private moment but with each moment they inched closer to the edge she was getting a little too loud for it to stay so private. Certainly anyone up late at night on the bridge would be hearing her by now. Her cute little o face distracted him again almost making him lose his pace until he was moving erratically. For a brief second he felt like a supernova had gone off in front of him and from the tight grasp Kathy had of his shoulder she was feeling it too. A little shaky now Q slowed his pace before the sensation ran back into his arms and made him realize he had fallen over by her side. A shiver ran down his back, his toes tingling from this strange sensation he had experience and all he could do was look up and smile. As soon as Q was able to make the room stop 'spinning' he turned to his side and wrapped an arm around Kathy hoping she wouldn't almost fall off again. "I know your Vulcan friend would insult me for my choice of words but, wow."

Kathy seemed to be out of breath, not able to actually keep up with the omnipotent being in this case. Normally she had a witty remark to make but honestly she was a little speechless now. "I don't mean to seem rude but since we are going to be parents and likely involved in each others daily lives would you mind if we did this some more. Only every once and a while, when you want to of course?" She just nodded her head still slightly speechless making Q pick up that big grin again and pull the blanket over her shoulder. "You're welcome."


	5. Change of Mind

Q walked the hallway whistling a happy little tune to himself, a bouquet of roses in his hand as he headed over to the bridge. Kathy had gotten up early that morning after falling asleep in his arms. She had gotten dressed and run off making him feel a little concern over weather she was regretting her choices last night. If she did he would do everything in his power to help her through it and let her know he wasn't the bad guy here. Passing a small group of ensigns from engineering he gave them a little smile and continued on his merry path before nearly walking right into LT. Tom Paris. The young cocky male human jumped off to the side after exiting the bridge and looked Q over with a suspicious smile locked on his chiseled face. Tom was attractive for a human male and worked on the bridge with his precious little Kathy but he had little to worry about. Kathy had better taste than Tom, he wasn't much of competition for the Q and so he had never found a reason to be snarky with him. "Well you seem chipper today Q." Tom spoke up playing the suave guy who didn't give a damn.

"Why wouldn't I be? It's a lovely day, the sun is shinning, the birds are singing, and the weather is beautiful."

"I don't know what plane of existence you are living on buddy but I wish I could join you there." Tom shot back glancing around the spaceship. He figured it was just Q being Q. After all there wasn't anything normal or settling about the omnipotent creature.

"It's all about perspective dear Tommy boy." Q quipped back patting the human on the shoulder.

"Well maybe you can share some of your optimism with the captain then. She's in a harsh mood today."

Fearing the worst Q grabbed Tom's shoulder a little harder clearly showing a look of concern. "What? Why? Did she say anything?"

"No, she's just not in a good mood, pretty quiet too. Are those flowers for her? Still trying to win her favor?"

Q looked down at the flowers feeling a little less chipper now. "Yes, still trying to win her favor it seems." Pushing past Paris he wanted to run over to Kathy and cheer her up. "Excuse me." He walked onto the bridge just as she stood up from her seat next to Chuckles and ordered the crew to set a course for a nearby planet where they could acquire supplies for their journey. So proud and noble standing up there with her hands on her hips. That air of authority and respect just rolling off her in waves. She was impressive for a human woman. Trying not to show the concern on his face he walked across the bridge to where the captain was standing, a stern expression fixed on her face. in an attempt to sneak up on her Q grabbed her arm and spun her around into his arms. The flowers pushed in her face as he dipped her back. "For you Kathy."

"Q, what are you doing on my bridge?" She growled giving him a death glare. Oh dear, she was angry with him. Was it something he had said? Still she took the flowers and pushed herself out of his arms. "My ready room, now." Biting down on his knuckles he tried running through his mind what he might have done wrong. His forced smile was starting to fade as he followed behind her like a punished pup wanting to make up for chewing his masters favorite shoes. Everyone on the bridge watched in silence while Q and Janeway vanished off into her ready room. With the door sliding shut Q stepped forward a little less concerned with showing more affection towards her. As she sat down at her desk and laid the flowers down he rushed to her side and rested his palm against the top of her chair. "Are you angry with me? Please don't tell me you feel guilty about last night?"

"It's nothing to do with you, I can't say I am completely without regret of what happened last night but I am not against what we did. I have concerns about something else." Janeway ran her fingers over the petals of the roses feeling a tightness in her chest, the urge to let her walls down and show weakness for even a moment crossing her mind. Last night was something she would remember with a certain fondness but even after what she had shared with Q she didn't trust him enough to show her softness and her fears. She couldn't rely on him for comfort which made this situation all that much harder. "Last night was an, interesting night but when I got swept up in the moment I didn't consider the repercussions. I'm certain you took last night as my agreement to have your child? I presume it's too late then to tell you I don't think having a baby on Voyager is a good idea. I can't bring a child into this world knowing it's not safe. Knowing we know nothing of this space and danger could be lurking around every corner. That I don't know if I can focus on getting my crew home and giving a child the life it deserves. I suppose it's too late to take back my choice now."

"I'm afraid so, several hours late in fact, actually in the next few weeks your chance to change your mind won't be the only thing that's late." Janeway raised a brow but remained quiet for now. It seemed her question was more than answered. Elaborated upon even. "But are you afraid you can not provide a good life for a child here?"

She paused looking at him a moment, letting out a sigh her shoulders dropped. Her brave facade faded just long enough to see a flash of fear in her eyes. "Yes, I wouldn't know if when it was born I would welcome it, or apologize. Even if we were in the alpha quadrant Voyager isn't a place for a child to grow up."

Running his hands down onto her shoulders he leaned over her and rested his chin on the back of her chair. "Kathy you worry too much. You fear this isn't the life for a child but your concern shows your love for it. You fear you won't be ready for such a small helpless little thing, to have to care for it but you are the strongest human woman I know and with my help our child with be provided everything they need to thrive. I promise you won't ever be alone. I won't let you be alone." Rubbing her shoulders he hoped to release some of the tension in her neck. She was always so tense and uptight, perhaps he could aid in working out the kinks in both her muscles and her mind. "With a snap of my fingers the little squirt can have whatever they want, I'll look after you, you''ll look after him, we will be one big happy family."

Reluctantly she leaned back in her chair trying to relax a little as his fingers worked out her tension. "Ah, Q you have magical fingers." Janeway groaned closing her eyes.

"You have no idea." He quipped. "Oh, wait you do." She opened an eye glancing at him with that look on her face as if she wasn't amused. "I'm going to make sure you relax and unwind after each day. This kind of stress can't be good for junior."

Looking back at her desk Janeway picked up one of the roses and raised it to her nose giving it a little sniff. She let a little smile show itself and closed her eyes again. Roses were not her favorite flower but the smell of them did set her mind at ease. "You know it's funny, I know I'm going to have this child but if I wouldn't have asked you about it I wouldn't have even known. How can I know?"

"Because I do." Q interrupted, her voice was starting to trail off, going a little soft as if she was talking to herself more than him. "It's like another energy signature, a really small tiny one that's mostly in sync with your own but not quite the same. Like two heartbeats in one body. You wouldn't notice, after all you are only human. I can't expect you to notice the smaller details in this vast universe." Patting her on the shoulder now he smiled down at her. "But it's still there."

"Hm, that's almost comforting." She tried to sound a bit more confident but the look on Q's face told her it hadn't worked very well. "Time I try to learn how to handle my new situation then. I'll make time for it right after I get the update on the warp cores repair, make a deal with the inhabitants of the nearest M class planet for supplies, oh and track a course around the asteroid field that is standing between us and home. I hope nothing else comes up, my plate seems rather full right now as it is." Eventually it was going to get a little more cluttered but Janeway knew she was going to have to deal with that.

"You know Kathy I could help you out a little. Just like your plucky crew, you bark orders at them all day, delegate tasks to them. Perhaps you can throw a few of those tasks to me."

"I don't bark orders." She snapped back. Normally she didn't anyways but she had to admit to being a little testy today. "I can't give you any responsibility on this ship either."

"Why not?" He moved over to her side.

Because I can't trust you with that sort of responsibility"

"But you can trust me being the father of your child? How is that logical Kathy?"

She cringed not really wanting to get into this conversation with him especially when she knew she was partially in the wrong herself. Maybe she hadn't been completely honest with him nor herself. She might have said something last night but she hadn't and now Janeway was going to pay for it. "If you want to help me out then you can start by taking some responsibility for Rowley. After all you created him didn't you? It might give you a crash course to parenting and just might change my mind on your reliability. He needs to be walked about three times a day to keep him from destroying my quarters, feed twice a day and bring him to his yard at least four times a day. It would help to play with him as well and oh, would you mind trying to teach him some basic commands. You might want to start with sit and stay. That would help me out greatly."

It wasn't really what he had expected but it was enough to hopefully gain more of her trust. "Consider it done then. I'll get right to work on that."

"Thank you Q. Maybe if you keep that sort of attitude up we just might get out of this alright."


	6. We Love, We Hate

"It's not everyday someone can get a Starfleet captain on her knees."

"Oh god Q."

Janeway looked up from under the bed and glared at him as he walked into her bedroom holding a plate in his hand. He was wearing some frilly pink apron like the ones those housewives from earths history had worn. Those sad representations of days before women had jobs and proper rights. Before women were starfleet captains, brilliant scientists, chief engineers, and doctors. Honestly it was a little insulting to her tastes at the moment. "Kathy you look ravishing this morning."

"These are still my private quarters, it's customary to knock before you enter." She grabbed onto the little red ball that Rowley had knocked under her bed. The puppy was small enough to get under here on his own but instead he had circled the bed all morning whimpering, whining, and barking until Janeway went to get it out for him. Throwing it to the side Rowley bounced off after it, snorting as he caught it between his teeth and running it back to Q's side.

"Afraid I'll see something I haven't already Kathy? Don't be so bashful, nothing too private from your quarters." He made that face he always did when he thought he had just said something funny and clever. Crossing her arms over her chest she just stood there watching him and raising on of her brows. Giving him that look she always did when she wasn't amused. The pun didn't even deserve a comment, silence was the only action here. Clearing his throat Q walked over to her table and set her plate down. "I brought you breakfast though. Replicated it myself, what do you think of that I didn't even snap my fingers for it. Scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast, and a few strips of turkey bacon."

Pressing her fingers against her temple she just stood there looking at him, as thoughtful as it was she didn't have time for breakfast right now. She was suppose to be going down to the planets surface today to negotiate trades with Neelix and Torres. "It's very thoughtful of you but I need to be going. We have negotiations to do."

Q stepped in front of her when she tried walking past him. Her excuses were not going to work on him. "But you need to eat Kathy you can't go on with little sleep, little rest, and little to eat. That's not healthy."

"Then I'll go eat when we get back. I'll have leftovers from that casserole Neelix made, besides I already had two cups of coffee." Stepping forward she tried again to go around him but Q just caught her in his arm and pulled her back in front of him.

"And what poison my child with that trash? If you are willing to risk our baby growing a third eye but you need nourishment Kathryn now or I'm not letting you leave your room, that's an order."

"You can't give me orders, I'm the captain." There were two ways to do this, the hard way or the hard way. Q couldn't win an argument with her so he was just going to play his omnipotent card and take the punishment as it came. When she put her hands on her hips he knew she was looking for a fight or a stand off at the very least. What she hadn't expected was for Q to bend down and wrap his arms around her legs before throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to her bed.

"I'm just going to tell you this now, you might be a big girl and think you can wear your big pants around me but sometimes Kathy you are nothing more than a foolish little girl. Now eat your breakfast before you leave." He laid her back down on her bed and walked over to grab the plate. Stabbing a few eggs with the fork he moved it through the air in a circular motion while slowly pushing it closer to her mouth and making a soft whistling sound. "Alright Kathryn open your mouth, the shuttle's coming in for a landing."

"I'm not a child Q..." She tried thrashing him for belittling her and treating her like she was both incapable of taking care of herself and now treating her like a tiddler. Instead Q ended up shoving the fork in her mouth to shut her up. So long as he acted like this her ability to tolerate and even like him was going to drop drastically.

"I understand you are not a child Kathryn but you are acting like one and you are carrying mine. Despite what you like to think I didn't just create that life to abandon it and hope for the best. I'm staying here and I am going to make sure you are getting the best possible care so I can worry less. By the way have you checked in with the EMH about this yet?"

She did her best to not show some sympathy for what he had said. It wasn't in her nature to let others take care of her, that was her job. She took care of Voyager and it's crew. As captain ti was her responsibility. It hadn't dawned on her that Q felt his responsibility was taking care of her. Even as a little girl she had been an independent person not relying on anyone else but herself. It was a bit uncomfortable for her to allow anyone to try and look after her. When he mentioned checking in with the EMH however Janeway got that look of surprise on her face. She had completely forgotten to go in, in fact she hadn't told anyone about the baby. So far she and Q were the only two souls on the whole ship who knew she was pregnant. "I have been so busy lately I forgot about that. I'll have to go in tomorrow but only if the Doctor can keep this quiet for now. It's going to take me some time to tell the rest of the crew. I don't have the luxury the rest of my crew has, we are not in familiar space and everyone relies on me to get them home. Ordinarily I wouldn't have ever perused a relationship and certainly wouldn't be having a child out here but your situation is a little different. One because this child isn't just to fulfill some desire for a family, it's a change for your people and the continuum. Secondly because a part of me however small it is believes I can make this work but only under these circumstances. A normal child, no they will never have an easy nor safe life out here but a Q child. Now that might be possible. If not for that I would never have had to worry about this discussion."

Q ran a hand over her shoulder and squeezed it lightly giving her a sincere smile. "Understood Kathryn, I know you are not completely comfortable with this right now. You have a lot of questions and fears but wait until you meet the little squirt. You won't be able to imagine a life without them. I understand you also have fears and concerns about me, to lighten that up a little I'll go with you tomorrow, I insist. As far as your crew you will have to tell them eventually. Something like this won't stay private for long."Passing the plate to Janeway he stood over her making sure she was eating up. "Would you mind if I came with you?"

"To see the Doctor?" She looked up at him taking a bite of the turkey bacon. "Ugh, this is awful. I think I should have risked Neelix's cooking. I never liked turkey bacon. It could never compare to the real thing."

"No I meant to the planet." It wouldn't be so bad if he followed her down to these negotiations just to keep an eye on her in the event something didn't turn out for the best. "Turkey bacon is healthier Kathy, don't complain just eat."

"Easier said than done." She smiled at him taking another bite and hiding that look of minor disgust on her face. "As for coming down to the planet I don't care just don't get in the way."

"See and now we are in love again, you have such a beautiful smile." He paused sitting down on the corner of the bed and resting a hand on her leg. She was going to likely shoot him an angry look or possibly tell him to get the hell out of her room. "But that is why I made sure junior was going to share that trait. I know you humans like to leave genetics up to fate but at the same time I don't like taking chances. Besides I'm the only one who can pull of charming and cocky."

"That's sweet of you to say Q, I think." Had he given her a compliment? It seemed a little like he had tried in his own way. He leaned a little closer making her feel a little uncomfortable again. Q's didn't have the best concept of personal space did they. "Well I enjoyed this chat of ours and I think I have sufficiently eaten enough to satisfy you but now we have to be getting to the transporter room so we can get our supplies." Taking the plate from her hands Q made it vanish with a small spark of light. Janeway brushed off her legs making sure to not have any crumbs remaining on her uniform. It was unsightly for a captain to never be at their best. Q reached down for her offering to help her up, something that she had to admit shouldn't surprise her as much as it did. Taking his hand he effortlessly lifted her up at spun her into his arms making her feel uncomfortable again.

"I'll walk with you there. Hope you don't mind, what might your crew say?" It wasn't as though it was a rare sight to see him trailing behind her. They all assumed he was still trying to win the captain over. It likely never crossed their minds that he already had and was now keeping an eye on his investment. Not that Kathy was only an investment to him. He realized she was a living breathing human being. Offering her arm to her he gave her a little smile. "Captain."

Janeway raised a brow and took his arm feeling a little suspicious of him. "Captain? Is that a show of respect from your Q?"

"If I said it was could you keep it a secret?" He joked not wanting the rest of the crew to think of him as anything less than above them all.

"I think I could manage that."


	7. Secrets Don't Stay Secret

It had become a normal part of his routine to walk into her room every morning over the weeks. Janeway didn't even yell at him anymore, she expected him to show up and pester her or comfort her. It really all depended on the day. When he stepped through the threshold of her room he gave a little smile seeing the pup Rowley prance over his way. Over the weeks the puppy had grown quite a bit and wasn't such a small bundle of fluff anymore. If Q hadn't gotten him to learn some basic manners like not jumping on people he could have slowly become a problem on the ship but thankfully the mutt was obedient. Pulling up on his pant legs Q got to his knees and patted Rowley on the head waiting for the pup to roll over onto his back and expose his belly so it could be rubbed. Q spoke to the pup in a higher pitched tone, almost baby talking to what he now considered his furry son. "How is Rowley doing today, oh so happy happy. Belly scritches, you love your tum tum rubbins yes you do. Good boy." Rowley wiggled side by side wagging his tail and panting until Janeway walked out from the bathroom holding her side. Rowley sprang up from where Q was crouching and ran back to his 'mother'. "Good morning my exotic space flower." He tried to be charming after seeing that sort of distant and uncomfortable look on her face. "Are you alright?"

She sat down on her bed, her shoulders slumped over and looking like she was going to curl up into a ball. "Alright? No, I haven't been getting much sleep. I have had a headache since last night that won't go away, the medication the doctor gave me hasn't helped with my nausea, and this morning I started having cramps. I'm also late again this morning. I can't keep making up excuses about my tardiness it's getting out of control." She did look like she needed to lay down and get some rest, in fact she felt like she needed to lay down and get some rest but as Captain there wasn't time for that.

"Have you told the doctor about this? That doesn't seem normal." He got up quickly feeling rather concerned for her. He knew she hadn't been feeling too good for a while now. Mostly it had only been her nausea but the doctor had given her something for that. Didn't seem to be working that well. So far as much as he knew from her few checkups she was fine. Sitting down next to her Q put an arm around her and rubbed her back lightly. "Maybe they can afford to have you tardy again so you can go and make sure everything's alright. Don't need to put on your brave face for me Kathy."

Slowly she sat up straight again and pulled her shirt down a little to straighten it out. "No that's alright, the pain has stopped now I think I'll be fine. I have had worse headaches than this and so long as I avoid the mess hall I shouldn't have any other problems." Getting up from the bed Q grabbed her arm still feeling concern. She couldn't brush everything off like this, for as long as he had been on this ship she did nothing but push herself to the limits. It was only a matter of time before she broke down.

"You should still go to the sick bay just to be safe."

"I'll go tonight how about that?" She leaned forward to kiss him but paused and stepped back. "On second thought I really shouldn't kiss you right now. I wasn't completely successful keeping my breakfast down."

That was thoughtful of her, not that he was germaphobic but some human bodily functions did disgust him naturally. After all he was above a lot of them, sleeping, eating, illness. She was only human, imperfect and yet somewhat perfect in his eyes. "Oh and don't forget I'm making a dinner for two tonight, just you and me, alone, candlelight, classical music playing in the background. No one to disturb us, I'll even draw you a bath afterwards, rub your shoulders..."

"Thoughtful but I'm going to try and get to bed early tonight, I could use the sleep. I won't say no to a nice bath though." Q smiled, at least she was going to let him do something nice for her. The dinner could always wait for another day when she felt better. She made her escape before he tried making her any more late to the bridge than she already was. At least she could be honest about having not slept well the night before but the reality of it was she would need to tell her crew soon about the current situation. As Q had once told her she couldn't hide it for long. A baby was normally something people would notice in time. Some were even starting to question. At least the doctor was helping her cover it up for the time being. Walking the hall to the turbo lift she held her head up high and looked back to Tuvok as he approached her.

"Captain, I would have thought you to be on the bridge already. It is unlike you to fall behind your usual scheduled." His voice was as one toned as always. His face fixed with that stern expression.

"I slept in again, I have been having a hard time sleeping lately, these headaches are driving me crazy." Grabbing at the bridge of her nose she could feel the pain still lingering in the front of her head where it had been swelling the night before. It came and went, sometimes getting to an unbearable pressure and then fading down into a numbness she could ignore. "Walk with me to the bridge?"

Tuvok nodded his head in agreement to accompany her as they made their way to the turbo lift. He had already done his daily meeting with the security crew. Everyone had their tasks delegated and there were no concerns to report. "Perhaps you should have the doctor look at you."

Janeway raised a hand to dismiss his suggestion. "No, he will just tell me the same thing he told me least time I went in. To get more rest. I'm just going to have to deal with this until it goes away." Once at the turbo lift Tuvok reached for the control to open the door. The pair stepping inside as Janeway gave the order. "The Bridge." With the doors closed she put her hands behind her back and waited for the short trip up.

"That may be so but it is better to get his medical opinion than continue on this way. You have not been operating at your optimal performance lately. I have concerns your judgment might be slipping because of these problems."

He was starting to sound just like Q now. Internally she was rolling her eyes, exhausted and sick of people always fussing over her. She knew what she could and couldn't handle and once she reached the point she would pull back and calm down. Letting out a heavy sigh a quiet voice caught her attention nearly making her jump. "This guy is dull don't you think?" Turning around Janeway searched for where the voice had come from, her eyes shifting about the turbo lift and then to Tuvok. Perhaps he head heard it as well. "I'm sorry did I frighten you? That wasn't my intention." The voice was clearly female and fairly young but she couldn't see where it might have come from.

"Did you hear that?"

Tuvok titled his head to the side. "Hear what?"

"A voice, a girls voice. Just now."

Her old friend raised a brow showing as much concern as was possible for a Vulcan. "I heard nothing."

"I don't think he can hear me." The young voice echoed inside her head again making Janeway turn to look behind her.

"There it was again you didn't hear it?" Janeway looked at him. Was she losing her mind? Tuvok remained quiet and yet he had heard nothing. Whatever Janeway was experiencing she was alone in it. At least until their eyes both shifted to what appeared as a flash of light. Standing there on the other side of the turbo lift was a small girl, no older than seven dressed in a red starfleet uniform. Her dark curls pulled back into a ponytail with a rather adorable smile. It seemed from the fix of his gaze that at least Tuvok could see the girl there as well. At least she wasn't losing her mind. "Tuvok?"

"I see her as well captain but I do not understand where she has come from."

Continuing to smile the girl looked over to Janeway making her smile a little bigger. "Hi." it was the same voice as before only it actually came from the child rather than inside her own head. The pain in her head increased making the captain press her fingers into her temple and lean forward. She felt sick, her ears were ringing, the lift felt like it was spinning.

"Captain?" Tuvok spoke as he grabbed her to hold her up but his voice seemed like a distant whisper. The turbo still felt like it was spinning wildly out of control and with another stabbing pain Janeway passed out, falling into her security officers arms.

The child at the side of the lift suddenly lost her smile and looked on with wide eyes. "Oops." Just as soon as she had come she had vanished without a trace.

Waking up in the sick bay Janeway felt her headache had gone away now though she still felt a little dizzy. As she tried to sit up Q grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back into the bed. "Easy Kathy, you're in sick bay. You passed out in the turbo lift. I told you we should have come here instead." Squinting her eyes through the bright light's she looked over to the other side where the doctor was standing and taking a few more readings.

He spoke with a a hint of annoyance in his voice. "If you would ever listen to me these sort of things wouldn't happen. You were lucky Mr. Tuvok was in the turbo lift with you." She shifted her gaze to see the security officer standing there. "Fortunately you seem to be alright now but I am curious as to what happened?"

Tuvok spoke up looking towards the doctor and speaking clearly. "The captain claimed to be hearing a voice of which I could not. I felt she might have been hallucinating until a small girl appeared on the turbo lift. She was accompanied by a flash of bright light. It was when the child appeared that the captain started to feel ill. Once the captain had passed out the girl vanished. I can not explain where she came from or where she went but I took readings of the lift and found no trace of an alien being having been there or anything else for that matter."

The doctor seemed puzzled. He turned to Kathryn wondering if she could enlighten him. "Did she say anything to you before she appeared?"

Carefully she sat back up and rubbed her forehead. "At first she told be Tuvok was dull, it was clear she could hear our conversation. I was startled at first and she apologized for frightening me. I asked Tuvok if he could hear the voice and as he said he hadn't. That was when the voice said he couldn't hear it. After that there was a little girl in the turbo lift. She said hi."

Tuvok nodded his head. "I do not think the alien being's intentions were hostile but I could not understand why it's appearing would affect Captain Janeway and not me, nor why I could not initially hear it's voice until it appeared in physical form." Everyone in the room seemed genuinely baffled by the event, mussing over the possibilities. That was all but one. Slowly all eyes shifted over to Q while he sat there clearly trying to keep something a secret. It wasn't until Janeway gave him the death glare that he opened his mouth.

"Well, I think I may know what happened and I can tell you it's nothing you need to worry about."

"If there is an intruder on my ship I need to worry about it." Janeway snapped back.

"I'm not an intruder." The child's voice rang out from the other side of the bed just behind the doctor. Just as before she was wearing the same starfleet uniform, her auburn hair tied back as she stood there with a warm little smile. "I hope you are okay now. I got so excited I couldn't control myself." The child's green eyes turned to Captain Janeway as she rose up on her toes, her voice holding a hint of excitement in it.

"I told you not to start using your powers, you don't know how to control them yet." Q snapped at the little girl. She let her smile fade away again and turned her toe into the floor scrapping it.

"But I was lonely and I really really really really really really really infinity wanted to meet her." The little girl made her eyes wider and looked at Q giving him that puppy face.

Her crossed his arms over his chest and let out a sigh knowing he had already lost the battle. After all he couldn't say no to a face like that. "Well you ruined the surprise." Q groaned back, the rest of the group was completely lost as to what was happening right now.

"Could either of you please explain to me who you are?" Janeway looked over at the girl who was now all smiles again.

"Kathy." Q spoke up glaring over at the child. "I would like you to meet our daughter." He crossed his arms over his chest again and stuck his nose up. "See i told you I could surprise you, you thought we would have a boy. Admit it you did."

The little girl wanted to run and hug the captain but Janeway got up from the bed and looked between Q and the little girl. "That's impossible she hasn't been born yet."

The doctor looked back at his scans. "According to this Captain you are still very much pregnant, hormone levels, fetal heartbeat, everything is reading normal."

Janeway looked back at the child again and rested her hand over her stomach feeling like her headache was going to come back. The child stepped forward ready to say something when Q cut her off. "Let me explain to them, I fear you don't have the capacity for that just yet." Rolling his eyes he took one of Janeway's hands in his. "Yes Kathy it is very possible. After all our child is only half human, she is also half Q. Ordinarily Q's exist above the physical, we live in a state of pure energy and can take a corporeal form to interact with species like humans. Unlike the rest of us this little, thing has a permanently fixed physical form, the one you are carrying now. She also does have a form of pure energy but very limited, a metaphysical form, the one you see standing there. She is able to project herself as pure though outside of her physical body it seems. One of the few things I didn't foresee about this sort of hybrid. You really can't comprehend with your smaller limited minds but I can try to explain it."

The little girl jumped forward and rocked back on her heels. "I can come out and play when I am sleeping."

"She's limited as I said, when she reaches a deep enough sleep she can project her thoughts, her mind, into what you see before you. A little like how the doctors holographic body works. At first it seemed she was developing like a normal human baby but a few days ago she became self aware. Her mental ability rapidly developed almost overnight and she was able to start...talking to me. I told her she couldn't project herself because she doesn't know how to use her powers properly yet. Besides I can't say what it might do to her frail little body. There has never been a hybrid like her before. For all I know it could disturb fetal development or worse, leave you brain dead." Q let out a sign, she got it from her mother. They were both stubborn, neither of them ever listened to him but what did he know he was only an omnipotent being.

Even Captain Janeway looked a little concerned now as she looked back at the girl. "But it's okay now, I know how to control it, I'm not going to hurt myself and I wanted to say hi. I can't project my thoughts directly on someones mind outside of yours, it hurts them just like it hurt her. I'm still sorry about that I didn't want to hurt you I just wanted to meet you so bad. Daddy told me all about you and I was so excited. I couldn't wait. Besides daddy the doctor man said I'm okay." The girl looked back at Janeway and smiled again twisting her toe into the floor. She was a little shy, possibly because she hadn't expected to actually make this work. "What do I call you anyways?"

"What?" Janeway turned her head trying to wrap her mind around this, all of it. When she had realized she was pregnant she had told herself she had nine months to figure everything out. That was plenty of time to figure out how to be a good parent and a good captain. Her time had been cut short, in fact her time seemed to be up.

"Do I call you Captain Janeway like everyone else or Kathy like daddy?" Despite seeming to have a rather extraordinary ability it didn't seem the child, her daughter had a full understanding of the 'outside' world."

"You can..." Captain Janeway paused for a moment. She hadn't thought this was a conversation that would ever have come up in her life. Talking to her unborn child, giving herself a title to be called by. "call me mother I guess." The word just rolled out of her mouth feeling strange at first.

"Mother? Okay, mother." It was scary hearing the girl say that word at first but by the second time she found herself smile. A warm sensation filling her chest to see the wide eyes little girl call her mother for the first time. That look of complete innocence on her face. Now that she wasn't about to have a panic attack she could see the resemblance in the little girl. They certainly looked alike in many ways. As Q had said the child had her smile, her eyes, her chin. There was no mistaking the little girl standing there was most certainly hers, more or less. The little girl looked down at the floor again and put her hands behind her back much the same way Janeway did when she was walking the halls of her ship. "Can I um, can I give you a hug?"

"I don't see why not." No sooner had the words left her mouth she felt the little girls arms around her waist, face pressed against her side. It took her a moment to relax and rest a hand on the girls back, a warm smile crossing Janeway's face before Q broke up the little moment.

"Well now you met her, it's time for you to go back. You shouldn't exhaust yourself until you have some better control of these abilities you are acquiring."

The girl didn't let go of Janeway, instead just looked up at Q with those sad puppy eyes again. "Aww but daddy..."

"Don't but daddy me, go on." The child slumped her shoulders looking like a kid who was just told to go to their room. With a flash of light the girl was gone again. Q nodding his head in satisfaction.

Tuvok had remained quiet during this event though he now knew about the secret Q and Janeway had been keeping and with this latest development Janeway knew the secret wasn't going to be so easy to keep. Turning to the security officer Janeway put her hands on her hips. "Well, I suppose it's time I tell the crew. Tuvok, tell the senior officers I have a bit of an announcement to make."


	8. What's In a Name?

Janeway walked onto the bridge, her hands placed on her hips as Ensign Kim smiled at her and gave her a nod of his head in greeting. So far the crew had been fairly understanding of her current situation. Kes much like Tuvok and some of the betazoids on the crew were all a little shocked since it seemed somehow Q's curious hybrid had avoided any psychic detection and yet now as Kes had pointed out put off a rather powerful energy pattern. To a point Kes couldn't actually be around her for too long without suffering the same headaches Janeway had felt before the baby apparently had learned to 'focus' her abilities. After three days without her showing up Janeway figured she wouldn't have gotten another visit ever again. Walking down to the captains seat Janeway sat down looking over to Paris. "Report."

"All is well captain, it's been smooth sailing for hours, nothing horribly exciting to report."

"Good, lets keep it that way." After everything Voyager had gone through it felt good having a little peace and quiet.

Chakotay leaned closer to her from his own seat, a little smile fixed on his face. "So, how's the kid?"

"Quiet." Janeway let out a little chuckle.

"What about you?"

She smiled again. "Thankfully much better now. The headaches have stopped, no more sharp pain in my sides, I still wish the nausea would go away though. At least I am getting better sleep now." Leaning back in her chair she allowed herself to get a little more comfortable. "It's been an interesting couple of weeks."

"Ha, I can imagine captain. I have to admit I was a little surprised you had changed you mind." Chakotay was no different than Q when it came to her safety and well being.

"Well, it's a long story Chakotay. You know how it goes, boy meets girl, girl ends up on the other side of the galaxy, girl feels lonely, girl meets another boy, boy tries to impress girl, boy ultimately succeeds, boy gets girl pregnant, girl is still trying to decide how to murder boy." Chakotay laughed along with her for a while feeling all the more puzzled and perhaps even a little angered. If Captain Janeway hadn't fully agreed on the child she was carrying now then did it mean Q had tricked her into this? Been deceitful to her? If he had, omnipotent or not he was going to make the Q pay. "Oh well, I guess this girl is just going to have to adapt."

"I don't doubt that she can." He had all the confidence in his captain. She had proven herself time and time again, and she would continue to do so. "Have you thought of any names yet?"

"Now that you mention it..." Janeway paused resting a hand over her abdomen with a little smile. "I have been putting some thought into it. Not that I have settled on anything yet but I have a decent start."

"Names?" Janeway found herself jumping when she heard the voice at first. It seemed to have come from nowhere, at least until she saw the little girl wearing a starfleet uniform standing on the bridge right next to her chair. "Whats a name?" The child rested her elbows on the back of the captains chair and set her chin on her hands watching with a look of awe.

"You can hear our conversation?"

"Yup yup I can, I can hear all of them, I mostly just listen. There isn't much else to do I guess."

Janeway arched a brow and looked over to Chakotay. "I guess I'm going to have to start watching what I'm saying from now on." Chakotay nodded his head and looked over at the small girl.

"A name is what, someone is called, what others call you by." Chakotay replied trying to help Janeway out a little.

"Like Captain?" The girl glanced over at him with big bright green eyes. It shocked him how much the young girl looked like the captain, right down to her auburn locks tied back in Kathryn's current favorite hair style.

"No, more like Chakotay, that's my name, or Katheryn." He motioned to Janeway causing a look of confusion on the girls face.

"But she's not Kathryn, she's mother. That's what she's called." Janeway cracked a smile, for being able to project herself outside her physical form she was very innocent. Likely no different than any other baby or toddler. Aside from the fact she wasn't a toddler or baby. She wasn't even beyond a fetal stage.

"No, mother is what you call her because she's...your mother." Chakotay tried to explain but the girl just twisted her face into one of further confusion.

"You know you really shouldn't be on the bridge." Janeway interrupted. Despite the strange circumstances children were still not allowed on the bridge.

The girl looked back to her mother and sat down on the ground in front of her. "But I can't leave the bridge unless you leave the bridge." Certainly, she couldn't grasp the concept of a name but she could be a smart ass even if she hadn't meant it. Must have gotten it from her father. "Aside from my physical body goes I mean. I can't project myself too far away from it or I'll lose control and have to wake up." Crossing her legs she looked up at Janeway with her beaming smile. "Do I have a name? What am I called?" All the more reason for Janeway to start considering names faster. They certainly couldn't call her girl or child for very long if she kept doing this.

Shifting in her seat she crossed her legs and leaned forward not quite certain how to act like a proper mother to her daughter. "Not yet but I have been thinking about it." That answer wasn't satisfying enough as the girl continued to sit there staring at her with a smile on her face. "But since you are around I could tell you a few of them." the girls eyes sparkled with excitement as she scooted a little closer. "Elizabeth was one of them, that was my grandmothers name and my middle name."

"Oh, Elizabeth. I like the sound of that."

"Then there was also Rebecca, though now that I look at you I don't feel like that would be the best name." She paused and tried to actually picture that girl having either of those names. Neither really fit, she didn't look like an Elizabeth or a Rebecca. "I have always loved the name Samantha as well." Again Janeway paused looking the child over a moment. Sam would be a cute nickname, she could be a Sam, or then again maybe not. "Maybe we should just find something we can call you until we get you a real name."

"Like Rowley?" The girl interrupted with a smile nearly making Janeway laugh.

"Oh no, that's the name of the dog. Rowley really wouldn't suit you, but you know what will, a name that won't change regardless so it doesn't matter if we call you by it now."

"What is that?" The girl tilted her head to the side and blinked a few times.

"Janeway, after all that is going to be your last name since Q doesn't have one."

The girl smiled, "Janeway? That's pretty. I like being Janeway."

"Captain I hate to break up your sentimental moment right now but our long rang sensors are picking up a ship." Paris turned around and spoke up before going back to the con.

A sense of dread hit the Captain as she stood up and made her voice hold more authority. "Give me a visual." She ordered, beside her young Janeway stood up and looked up at the screen then back to her mother. When the image flashed up before then she watched the look of confidence on her mothers face change to something else she hadn't witnessed yet. "Go to red alert." Kathryn ordered. They knew this type of ship well but what it was doing this far out here, now that was what concerned her all the more. "Vidiian, Mr Paris have they noticed us yet?"

"Sensors are not picking up any scans, they don't seem to be powering up weapons. I don't think they have noticed us yet captain."

"Good, then get us out of here before they do." She turned back to young Janeway with her hands on her hips. If the ship discovered them the Captain knew the last thing she wanted was for this still innocent little Q to be standing on the bridge and witnessing possible chaos. "Janeway, I'm going to have to tell you to wake up now. You can't be out here anymore."

"But I want to stay here with you mother." She cooed looking up at the captain with her big bright eyes.

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. I can't have you on the bridge right now, you'll only be a distraction and get in the way. You have to go back." Her tone became a little harsher, it was better to upset the child than make her stand on the bridge during a fight. The younger Janeway didn't even argue after that, with a flash of light the girl was gone. If only she had the means to fully remove her daughter from harms way. Resting her hand on her abdomen she let out a heavy sigh. It was because of situations like this that Janeway hadn't wanted a baby in the first place.

"Captain we are being scanned by the Vidiian ship. They know we are here." Paris called back. "They are powering up weapons."

"Raise shields, Paris get us out of here. If we play our cards right we can outrun them." Grabbing onto the railing in front of her she braced herself in the event something went wrong. "Lets hope they are feeling merciful today."


	9. Firefight

"Shields are down to 40 percent." Ensign Kim yelled over the sound of the crackling control panel.

"Warp core is offline, aft thrusters are down." Paris called up after him.

"Convert power to the shields, it looks like we are going to have to stand and fight." Another burst hit the ship making it shake, alarms sounding off as the captain nearly lost her balance and fell. "Q you picked a damn fine time to be away." She yelled partially to herself and partially in hopes he would actually hear her and get the ship out of here.

"Shields are down to 30 percent."

"Tuvok, fire at will." The ship shook again as it was hit again, a piece of the bridges ceiling crashing down and nearly hitting Janeway in the back. Chakotay pushed her out of the way knocking them both to the ground. It was for a brief moment that the ship was completely still, a moment the captain almost felt like they might have been safe. "Report." She yelled up from the floor, slowly hoisting herself back up.

"Captain, they are boarding the ship."

Q had been gone less than a few minutes but when he returned the ship was in shambles. Walking down the hall towards the captains quarters he opened the door watching as Rowley came running over. His tail pinned between his legs. "Great I put you in charge for a second and you let this happen? Bad dog." The red lights flashed in the halls behind him as he turned on his heels. "Kathryn." Turning back to the dog he nodded his head. "Come on mutt, lets hope that stubborn master of yours is on her bridge taking care of this." Moving down the hall again with Rowley at his side Q stepped back and pressed his back into one of the far walls. Two Vidiians were walking his way holding their strange weapons in hand. "Let me handle these primitive beings." Q growled and stepped into sight. One of the Vidiians raised his weapon to fire on Q only to have the omnipotent begin snap his fingers and make him vanish. Turning to the comrade he smile, "Best put that down before you hurt someone or I'll send you into the same supernova I just moved your friend to." Without a word the second Vidiian dropped his weapon and stepped back. "Good choice."

Walking past him he whistled to the dog, the pup bouncing happily past the second Vidiian. It seemed with Q's back turned he had gathered up some more courage and grabbed for his weapon once again. Aiming it at Q's back he fired only to have the beam phase right through and hit the wall in front of Q. Snapping his fingers the second Vidiian vanished in a flash of light, Q's tone falling to one of annoyance. "I gave him fair warning Rowley. When she yells at me about this you tell her that." Stepping over a fallen piece of the ship Q could hear someone in trapped behind one of the doors. "I don't have time for them Rowley, go fetch someone to get these poor fools out of there. I'm going to the bridge."

The captain rushed up beside Tuvok as he looked over the ships readings. "Captain, they are now on decks 10, 9, and 8."

"Seal off those levels, keep them from moving to the upper decks. Get everyone out of there. They won't be harvesting anyone on my ship today."

With a flash of light Q came in standing next to the con and turning to face Janeway. "Ah, Kathy I have been looking for you."

"Q, you picked a fine time to show up. Do me a favor would you. How about you use those powers of yours to snap those Vidiians off my ship."

"I thought you'd never ask." He smiled and snapped his fingers. A look of confusion crossed his face before snapping his fingers a few more times with no result.

"Captain they are making their way to the bridge."

Janeway turned back to Q stepping away from Tuvok. "Q, now would be a good time."

He continued snapping his fingers furiously and yet nothing was happening. "Kathy this might be a bad time to tell you but, I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" She growled back.

Tuvok turned around pulling while the doors to the bridge opened up. Four Vidiians walked out onto the bridge firing and Tuvok and Chakotay. Janeway went to grab her phaser when the Vidiian aimed at her. "Drop it."

Q grabbed Kathy forcing her to throw the weapon down and holding her back so she wouldn't try to fight back. "Q, what are you doing?"

"Keeping you from getting shot." He grabbed her arms and struggled to keep her from fighting with him. She shouldn't be this hard for him to restrain but when she got pissed she could be a real firecracker. Two of the Vidiians were scanning her crew already but didn't seem too interested in harvesting them just yet. It was when one scanned Janeway that he turned around to the man who seemed to be the leader. Scared face twisted with a look of joy.

"Sir, these readings coming from the female. I have never seen anything like this before. This, this can't be possible." He walked over to share the findings from his scan, the two talking quietly for a while. Slowly Q tightened his grip on her, his ear inching closer to her ear as he kept his voice low.

"Kathy you have to get out of here, run."

"I'm not leaving my crew behind."

"I don't care about your people, you need to get out of here before they..."

He was cut off by the leader of this little party. "Take the human female, tell our men to get back to the ship immediately. This is top priority."

"Understood." With two vidiians coming towards Kathryn Q pushed her back behind him and stepped up to face them. Throwing a punch at one he missed and was caught by the other. His arm bent back and his face struck hard with one of their weapons. He let out a scream more in surprise than in pain as his nose broke under the force. Blood rushing down his face. He wasn't suppose to bleed. Staring down at his bloody fingers a moment he turned back and swung again. This time a knee came up to his ribs knocking the wind out of him and making him collapse to the ground. The two vidiians grabbed Janeway restraining her quickly and injecting her with something that made her fall over into their arms.

Q tried getting back up, the pain in his side making him fall over again. "You put her down or I promise, there won't be a corner of this universe you can hide that I wont find you and make you wish you had never seen Voyager." He growled as the leader turned around and fired his weapon at Q. The beam burning into his shoulder and knocking him out.

"Take the female back to the ship, prepare us for takeoff."


	10. Can't Take Me

Janeway awoke in the dark lab, not a vidiian in sight as she struggled to sit up. Moving her shoulders she was caught by a metal bar rested over her chest. Moving again she tried to lift her hands only to discover they were restrained as well. Slowly her dark blue eyes surveyed the lab, some instruments were familiar to her, there was a cortical simulator and a device used to collect tissue samples. Most of the rest was a little more advanced but certainly vidiian. Taking in a deep breath she turned her head sideways or as far as a metal brace around the crown of her head would allow her to. On the far wall she noticed something that looked like a door. Looking back a little more she could make no mistake about the control panel just above her. If only she could get out she might be able to figure the controls out and send a message to let Voyager know where she was. Pulling on her arm again she tried slipping it through the metal restraints.

"Mother." The voice spoke up from the other side. That captain turned her attention to the small girl in the starfleet uniform standing beside the medical bed. Her emerald eyes filled with a look of dread. If anything right now the Captain didn't want little Janeway to be here, to witness anything that happened. "Where are we?" The young Janeway asked with a hint of fear in her voice. No, this situation could turn out to be good after all.

"Janeway, don't be afraid alright. I'm going to get us out of here but you need to help me can you do that?" Young Janeway nodded her head and grabbed onto her mothers arm. "Do you see that control panel over there, can you interact with it?"

The child looked over to the controls and back to her mother feeling a little nervous. "I can try." Quickly the girl walked closer to the controls and stood up on her toes to better look down on it. Pressing one of the buttons young Janeway jumped back when it beeped. "Yes, I can. I can interact with it."

Closing her eyes Janeway let out a sigh of relief. She had been nervous about the babies ability to project itself outside the womb but now she was feeling a little more blessed. "Good, now try to find something to release the locks on these restraints. It might be under medical security."

The little girl looked over the controls and sheepishly pushing buttons. Young Janeway couldn't understand anything there, the words didn't make sense to her. In fact written words of any language didn't make much sense to her yet. Still she worked at it, guessing what each alien letter or number stood for. "Mother, I can't find anything." Her voice was starting to tremble more and more, her hands shaking as she stepped away from the controls.

"Calm down Janeway, listen to my voice. Take a deep breath and concentrate. Try to think of something, if you can affect peoples minds with your own like you do with Kes and myself then can you try to make a connection with the computer system itself?"

Young Janeways eyes got wide when her mother made the suggestion. She wouldn't have thought of that, she only tried to contact organic things, computers didn't seem like they would have much to say. "Oh, I can try." She sounded a little more confident now. Focusing her mind at the control she stood quietly, her eyes widening a little more. "I feel something." Young Janeway paused using her mind to flip through the systems like humans used their fingers to flip the pages of a book. "I think I found something." Pulling up one of the 'pages' young Janeway ran over it slowly zooming in on each 'word' or operation within the computers mainframe. The next thing to follow had been the click of the restraints unlocking. The captain let out the breath she had been holding and moved her hands free so she could push the bar away from her chest and sit up. "Mother I did it." Young Janeway screeched happily. At the side of the room the door slid open, two vidiian scientists walking into the lab and followed by an armed guard. Once they saw Janeway sitting up the guard ran at her grabbing her by the throat with his leathery hand. Young Janeway backed away from the controls again letting out a piercing scream, her eyes fixed on the horrid looking humanoids.

"Restrain the female." The lead scientist commanded and started walking closer to young Janeway, his scanner held up as he tried to get a reading on her. "Where did you come from little one?" His voice was menacing, his posture like a stalking cat after a cornered mouse. Interesting, I'm not getting any readings off of this lifeform. As though she isn't really here, no energy reading, no...wait." He continued to move in closer to the child making her back into the wall.

"Leave her alone." the Captain growled, her body forced back onto the table and restrained once more.

Turning his scanner on Janeway his eyes widened again. "The fetus is putting off a massive energy amount, I have never seen readings like this, heightened brain activity, DNA is becoming unstable again as though it's phasing in and out or causing a distortion. Very interesting." Setting his scanner down he pulled out what appeared to be a long needle. "I would like to get a tissue sample to study." As he lowered the needle towards Janeway she struggled to break free again. "Don't move or it will cause harm to the fetus." His attempts to calm her down hadn't worked, it only made Janeway struggle harder to get out of her restraints. "Give her a minor dose, I can't have her unconscious."

His assistant pushed a hypo spray into her neck, her body paralyzed and unable to move she laid there on the table. Her mind struggling to but her body unresponsive. Slowly the needle drove through her abdomen, her eyes flickering over to young Janeway as she stood there, a look of complete horror on her face. Janeway wanted to tell the little girl to do something, to do anything, run, hide, look away but the child just watched with a tear stained face, her mouth open as though she was trying to scream. In an instant young Janeway let out a scream and collapsed to the ground shaking in pain. Her body writhing about as she clawed at the ground and cried out. "It hurts, it hurts, stop it hurts" Young Janeway curled up into a ball before blinking away in a flash of light. Again Janeway tried to speak but was unable to move her mouth, her eyes shifting to the vidiian scientist. If only her eyes were capable of inflicting injury to him, more than he had inflicted on her daughter.

Q awoke in the sickbay laying on one of the beds, his head throbbing as he sat back up and catching himself wincing in pain. "You might want to refrain from moving, you had three broken ribs and internal bleeding." The doctor ordered. Kes rested her hands on the begins shoulders trying to make him lay back down but instead Q pushed her away and got off the bed.

"Where is Kathy?"

"Please Q you need to rest." Kes tried to usher him back down on the bed.

"No, I need to find Kathy." Q pushed back and broke free from the woman's grip.

Looking over to the door Chakotay walked in, that look on his face he got when Q would pester Janeway until she just gave up and paid attention to him if only so he would leave her alone. He crossed the sickbay quickly closing the space between himself and Q. Once he was close enough the fiery Indian struck Q hard in the face with his fist. Turning around Q grabbed his nose and groaned in pain. "That's for what you did to Kathryn." Chakotay growled. Q tried to turn back around and say something back but was struck on the other side of the face. "And that is for Voyager."

Q caught himself on the bed again and let out another groan while the commander composed himself. "I think you broke my nose." The doctor was scanning him again and using one of his tools to repair the new break. "Do you feel better now?" Q asked facing the Indian again and flinching when the man crossed his arms.

"Yes." Chakotay admitted.

"Good, then can you do me a favor. Can you tell Tweddle Dee and Tweddle Dumb to let me out of here so I can go get Kathy back?"

"No, I will tell the doctor to let you out of here so you can help 'us' get Captain Janeway back." Uncrossing his arms he looked a little disappointed. "Since you seem to be, mortal I assume you don't have your powers anymore."

Q groaned not wanting to be reminded of that. "It would seem so, I guess things didn't go in my favor back at the continuum. They picked a bad time to make me human but I can worry about that later. I still have a higher IQ than you Chuckles so don't think you can go acting superior. I know this ship is hardly limping but if you get me to the bridge I'll have it ready to hunt down that Vidiian research vessel. They won't be escaping me, I made them a promise." Chakotay didn't have to like Q but he could like how Q was thinking. With a little smile Chakotay patted him on the back and started walking him to the bridge.

They had left her alone for a while now, the pain still shooting in her side as they went over their findings. Side by side the two scientists talked among themselves in hushed voices glancing back to Janeway from time to time. "The tissue seems to not only be fighting off the infection but creating new steam cells to repair any damaged tissue. I have never seen this in another species."

"Does it extend into the mothers immune system as well?"

"I'm afraid not, if we were to infect the female she would certainly die and take the fetus with her."

"So we will have to remove the fetus in order to run the tests." The two seemed to be in agreement as they turned back to Janeway, still unable to move.

The leader of the team walked up beside her holding the tool they had once used to remove Neelix's lungs. "This procedure may hurt but when we have finished we will return you to your ship. You will no longer be required and I do not wish to harm you. Yet I am afraid to inform you that your child can not return with you. I can promise you the child shall not be killed, we will take good care of it. You can live knowing that your sacrifice will have saved a species from their extinction." As much as she wanted to yell at them she couldn't, her mouth still felt as though it had been wired shut. "I will do this as quickly as possible." He raised his device moving it over her body. Inside Janeway was trying to fight against her own body again, to just pull one hand free, to move away.

A sharp pain hit her, at first she thought it had been from the scan until she realized the pain came from her head. A pressure, a will not her own forcing down on her mind. Almost instantly the device in the researchers hand malfunctioned dispersing energy beams around the lab and ripping through the degrading flesh of the vidiians. Janeway was able to turn her head and look away as the bolts whipped around blowing out the controls and releasing the locks on her wrists. No sooner had the locks come undone again she sat up pushing the bar from her chest and jumping off the table. It would have been easy to just run now aside from the pain in her abdomen, a sharp sting as if the needle was still there. Slowly the cramp subsided allowing Janeway to walk over to the door. When the controls had blown the door seemed to have become deactivated, she couldn't open it. "Just what I needed." No sooner had the words left her mouth she felt strange, fuzzy almost. Her whole body felt like tiny bubbles were running through it, a cold numbing sensation following closely behind. For a brief second she could see her hands becoming transparent. Grabbing her stomach she felt a little light headed, her core feeling like a flock of birds were flapping their wings inside her and just like that the sensation's were all gone when the captain went up in a blink of light.


	11. The Vidiians

"We are following their warp trail as we speak." Paris commented at Q as he stood over his shoulder looking like he was about to choke someone.

"Well follow faster. The sooner we get Janeway back the sooner I'll leave you alone."

"We all want her back as much as you do, just, stop looking over my shoulder while I try to work." Paris growled back.

"Fine." He raised his brow and walked over to the captains chair glancing down at the empty seat with a pinning look on his face. It just wasn't the same without her, if those Vidiian bastards harmed one hair on her head he was going to make them suffer, with or without his powers.

Janeway hadn't expected to reappear on the other side of the door, her stomach still feeling like a flock of birds were trapped in a windstorm. Turning back to glance at the door she felt a little ill prepared for her escape now. "Janeway if that was you who got us out of there you could have at least waited for mommy to grab a gun off one of the guards." Stealth was going to have to do until she could acquire one, though she could only hope it wouldn't come to that. While she walked away from the lab trying to keep hidden the small form of the girl showed up again, her hand over her chest while she stood beside the captain.

"Mother, why did they hurt me? I didn't do anything bad did I?" Her voice was quiet, shaking, she sounded like she was still in pain. She held her hand tight over her left breast, her hand shaking every time she took a breath.

"You did nothing wrong, sometimes people do bad things without a reason." Though Janeway knew there had been a reason for harming her daughter. It seemed they were after her for whatever reason, likely because from the sound of it the unborn child had a resistance to the phage. At least they thought so. "Are you hurt?" She reached out grabbing the young girls hand and pulling it away from her shoulder. There was blood covering her hand. Gasping Janeway wondered if seeing her bleeding here meant her real body was so badly injured as well. "Janeway, you're bleeding."

She pulled her hand back and covered the wound again, her body starting to shake as she drew in short breaths. "I'm trying to fix it but I'm so tired. I can't..." The girl paused for a moment almost falling back into the wall. "I have to go, I can't help you anymore mother. I'm too weak, I need to rest." A flash of light made the girl vanish once more. She had to contact Voyager soon or it could mean death for her daughter. Picking up her pace she ducked back into the shadows keeping out of sight as a small group of Vidiian's walked by. Without knowing the layout of the ship it was hard to find another station to send out a message from. Having her plucky and powerful little omnipotent daughter would have been helpful in navigating. Right now she was wandering around in the dark unarmed and Janeway didn't like being unprepared.

Heading down another corridor Janeway leaned against the wall feeling like her insides were tightening up or being tugged on. The pain was mild and numbing, not quite like the cramps she had experienced from the baby trying to use her powers before. "Hold on Janeway, as soon as we get back on Voyager I will make sure we get right to sickbay and get you a clean bill of health." She hoped the baby could hear her now and just give her a small break while she hunted for a way off the ship. "I know you are hurt but if you calm down and don't cripple me I'll get us out of here, after that I promise I'll take a few days off from the bridge." Q was complaining she needed rest for the both of them. That her constantly being on the go was going to hurt the baby as well. If the kid could stop losing control of herself and they made it off the ship she would be happy to take it easy until the moment she was in labor. She would run relaxing programs on the holodeck, get eight hours of sleep, give up coffee, hell even give some of her responsibilities to Chakotay.

Turning another corner Kathryn ran into the Vidiian who had taken her off the ship, the man leading the attack on her and her crew. Before he had a chance to react she used her elbow to strike him hard in the ribs making him bend over in pain. With his guard down she kneed him hard in the face and slipped his weapon from his belt holding it against his throat. "You, you are the one who attacked me on my ship. If you want to survive you are going to take me to one of your shuttles."

He choked trying to pull air back into his lungs while Janeway pressed the phaser harder against his throat. "I can't do that, we need your child's DNA. It could save my people."

"And you can't have my child." Janeway growled.

He took in another breath trying clear his throat out so he could speak again. "You would condemn a species over one being?"

"For my own child, yes."

"Then you know how I feel, please, listen to me. I know how you feel and I truly do feel sorry for you. My daughter, Kalesa was just diagnosed with phage three months ago. She's only seven years old. Do you think she deserves to live this life, a life like this? Look at me, I'm a monster, but I can save her still. I can save her from becoming this if you just let me explain."

Her grip on the phaser tightened when he spoke of his daughter but she couldn't just let him take her own daughter to save his. Still Janeway softened the tone of her voice. "I am sorry about your daughter, no parent should have to go through what you are going through, but I still can't let you take my daughter." Janeway felt her grip on the phaser slip a little as another cramp tightened up her stomach muscles and caused her to double over a little. Her arm tucked under her rib cage as she groaned.

"You are hurt, you need medical assistance, I don't want to see you or your child hurt. Please let me help you." He crept a little closer to her threatening to grab her. She didn't believe him, after he had taken her from her ship, had his men attack Q, she couldn't trust him. Tightening her grip on the weapon she aimed it back at him, her eyes showing the same anger they had when he had taken her from Voyager. "I understand that you are angry with me but if it was you I know you would do the same. I can tell from how you protect your child you would do the same to save her."

"That is where you are wrong." Janeway huffed grabbing her side again. "I wouldn't take your daughter from you just so I could save my own." This time a sharper pain ran through her cutting right up into her back and up her spine. It was enough to make Janeway nearly drop her weapon and fall to the ground. Arms wrapped around herself despite the pain she had to fight through it, she had to get up and keep going, she had to get out of here and get herself to safety, back to Voyager so the doctor could look her over. Instead she laid on the ground writhing in pain and trying to will herself up. An arm wrapped around her lifting her off the ground and pulling her back up to her feet. Again Janeway tried to struggle out of his grip and move away on her own but the ship around her was starting to blur, a loud cry escaping her lips. One moment she was in pain and then the next moment she was unconscious again.

"We are getting readings on three Vidiian ships on the long range sensors." Kim called over to Chakotay. "The warp trail from the ship that took the captain is right there with them. We found her."

"Mr. Paris bring us in slow, we don't want to alert them until we are close enough to transport the captain out of there. As soon as we get her back to voyager take us into warp away from here are we understood?" He paused looking to Tuvok, "Prepare an away team in the event we can't beam the captain out we will be sending a group in to get her."

Q walked up to Chakotay more than ready to go down there and snuff out every insignificant little Vidiian life he came across. "Send me with the team, don't think I am just going to stand by when Kathy needs me most." Chakotay was hesitant to let Q go but even as a human he bet he couldn't keep the egotistical ass from sneaking past him.

"Alright, go with Tuvok to gather the team. Once we get into range we will try to get the captain. If that doesn't work then it looks like you will be going down to bring her back to us."

Janeway woke up blinking her eyes slowly at first before realizing she was still on the Vidiian ship. Sitting up fast it surprised her she hadn't been restrained. The bed beneath her was softer than the one from the lab, looking around the room it appeared to be a sickbay rather than a laboratory but still very much Vidiian. Sickbay or lab it didn't comfort her to wake up not knowing what had happened. "It's alright captain Janeway, lay back and rest a while, there had been extensive damage you suffered. Most likely occurred when those idiots tried to remove the fetus. You likely would have lost it if not take care of in time, your body had already started showing signs of aborting it but within the hour you should have a full recovery." Moving a hand over her abdomen she gasped afraid he might have taken her child now. "Don't worry, it's still there if that is what you are wondering. It received a small injury just bellow the collar bone that I have corrected. Without our advanced medical technology she might have been born with a deformity because of their carelessness. She may very well have never gained control of that arm. Because of our technology you know she would have the safest life one could ask for. She would never fear what most children fear, pain, illness, her life would be carefree. She would be loved, protected, be raised as a hero, a messiah."

It was ironic wasn't it, it seemed since the moment this child came into being she was forced into the position of messiah for more than just the Q. "But she wouldn't have me anymore or her father. She isn't a normal baby, she knows who I am, she would remember me, miss me, wonder why I gave her up. Even if it was for a good cause I couldn't live with that. Even if she was just a normal human child I couldn't live with that. Would you give your own daughter up to save another? Could you?"

He signed, "I was afraid you would say that." Lowering his head he paused a moment. "Which was why I took the liberty of collecting a small blood sample along with stem cells. I can't guarantee I could ever make a cure to combat the phage virus. Not enough for the whole population but I will do what I can with it. Even if all I can do is save just my daughter then that will have been worth more than everything else I have." Janeway was puzzled, he wasn't going to just let her go now was he? Something didn't seem right.

"That's it? Why the change of heart?"

"Believe me, I had thought about taking the child. I speak the truth when I say she would have the best care all of her life. She would never want for anything but one. Your daughter has a funny way of appearing when she isn't really here. She told me if donating her blood could save someone then she would be happy to do so, but she would never be happy away from you. She insisted if I took her from you that I would have more than an angry mother on my hands. I couldn't look her in the face and tell her what I told you. How we would look after her, how she would have everything. I knew it would be a lie. If she thinks as highly as you as she says she does then she would be right, she wouldn't be happy without you. With the phage virus being so risky to our population as it is we couldn't keep you by her side either." Walking closer to Janeway he let out a sign. "So I made a choice, I can't take a child from her parents."

A sly little smile crossed her face as she thought about young Janeway. "She wasn't going to let you take her was she."

"No, after I fixed her shoulder she made a near immediate recovery and made all my instruments malfunction until I fixed you as well. If I so much get a scanner close to you know it will overload."

There was a sense of pride knowing her daughter was just as difficult as she was to push around. "Are you going to take me to a shuttle now so I can leave?"

"Commander, a small shuttle has just left one of the Vidiian ships, it's hailing us sir. I think it's captain Janeway." Kim turned to face the commander.

"Bring her up Kim."

Q had run off to sickbay the second he heard Janeway was back on the ship. Running into the sickbay door he felt a sting of pain on his nose hopping he hadn't broken it again. His excitement had literally blinded him but only for a moment as eh opened the door and stepped inside. Janeway and Kes were laughing about something, acting as though nothing had happened. Yet seeing her smile assured him everything would be alright now. Turning to Q Kes offered up a warm smile. "You'll be happy to know both Janeway and the baby are in perfect health."

He relaxed his shoulders a little and moved up tot eh side of the bed where she was sitting. Throwing his arms around her he kissed her on the lips making Janeway flinch a little. Though she hesitated to kiss him back she figured just this once wouldn't hurt him. Once he parted his lips from hers he rested his head against her shoulder, almost crying now. "I am so happy you are alright."

"Me too, however if you think you are getting off the hook for your behavior Q you are mistaken. You put Voyager and myself at risk."

"You don't need to punish me Kathy, I think I have been punished enough. I'm...mortal." He glanced away wondering if she was even going to want him on the ship now. While he had his powers he was the only one capable of controlling juniors powers. Without them now he was useless.

"Mortal? How?"

He glanced over towards Kes feeling a little bashful to discuss it right now with her. "It's an interesting story really. Maybe best if I tell you when we are alone. Right now I just want to take this moment to be thankful for your safety." He paused hugging her tight again. "I love you Kathy."


	12. Cause and Effect

When Q had entered the captains quarters he had expected the flawless perfection it was always kept in. True there was the odd dog toy strewn about now a days and sometimes Rowley had knocked something over but never had he seen it quite like this. The crew had told him that Janeway had left the bridge quickly. Ordinarily she would go to the ready room but this time she had even avoided her second sanctuary. Now he could understand why, at least in her private quarters the rest of the crew would never walk in on this mess. Stepping over a fallen vase of flowers Q furrowed his brow and looked over at another broken vase. Was something going on here? "Well I can't say I agree with your new tastes but this is nice. What inspired the redecorating?"

"I didn't do this, well, not intentionally." Q stepped over a bundle of blankets that laid in his path. This was interesting.

"What happened here?"

"Lets just say I'm getting better at predicting our babies powers thankfully. Imagined if she had 'tested' her abilities on my bridge." It looked like a small explosive had gone off in the room. Even her wall decorations had been blown down.

"Tested? I specifically told her not to push herself any further than she already has. Not that I can knock her down anymore. I'm mortal after all."

"I think ordinarily she would have listened but since the Vidiians and those two cups of coffee this morning she's been singing a different tune. She's afraid Q and we have a problem. I can't very well run my ship when at any moment this child might blow it up by accident. Like you said you are mortal now, you can't correct any damage she might do. I'll take the credit for those two cups of coffee, are you going to take credit for the vidiians?" She just had to go and bring that back up. It had been five days since that attack and everyone had come out of it alright, at least physically.

Glancing around the room something else hit him, "Where is Rowley?"

"Oh that." Janeway paused taking another sip of coffee. "She just discovered what a dog was, I think ordinarily a child would be excited to meet a dog for the first time but she's frightened, I blame the Vidiians for that, and jumpy, I blame myself and two cups of coffee on that. She thought the dog was going to eat her, I think it slipped her mind that her projected form isn't her physical body. She panicked and, well I'm not sure."

Q seemed a little panicked, his hand going over his mouth as he gasped. "She didn't, send him back from whence he came did she?"

"No, but she gave him quite the fright. He's been hiding in his crate for the past hour and a half. I don't blame him, just look what she did to the room." This situation was problematic and not something Q had considered. He should have, then again maybe not. His offspring seemed to think more along the lines of a mortal lifeforms. A fear of losing it's life and the natural instinct to survive. Q didn't have these problems. They couldn't die, not just from aging but they were impervious to all physical damage aside from their Q weapons. Normal Q couldn't even feel pain, he could be beaten and broken all day and not notice a thing. At least until now, being mortal had it's serious flaws.

"What do you expect me to do? Talk to her?"

"Well I tried talking to her but I think she is starting to grasp a few concepts. The first being that I don't have the powers the two of you have. You might not have your abilities now but you still understand them and how they work. Here is your first chance to prove yourself as a parent, parent her perhaps? You don't need to snap your fingers to fix every problem."

"And you expect an omnipotent being to give her a lecture on being fearful for your life and the proper precaution to take in defending it?"

"Well, you are mortal now." She had a point, he didn't like her point because he didn't like to admit he was a sad helpless little embodiment of a human but then again he had admired a few humans in his time. Perhaps being resigned to this state wouldn't be too horrible. Even little Q was half human. "By the way you did promise to tell me about why you became mortal." Oh now she was pushing it.

"One situation at a time Kathy." Crossing his arms over his chest he stood there trying to think about what to do. It wasn't as easy as snapping his fingers as Kathy had reminded him. So then how was he to proceed with this situation? Of course he was still superior with his intellect, perhaps little Q would understand reason and logic. "Q, show yourself." He spoke up hoping she would hear him and show up. "You are in big trouble missy."

Kathryn wasn't at all impressed by his attempt to parent right now. His tone was a bit harsh, she hadn't really thought of this becoming a lynching for the poor girl. She was already frightened enough as is. Still young Janeway had heard she was being called out and so she showed herself, despite being a little hesitant. "Hi." She managed to squeak out, standing beside her mother as if ready to take cover from her fathers rage. "Did I do something bad?"

"Yes." He snapped back looking at her with a stern expression as if to give her the verbal lashing of a lifetime. The younger Q had been startled earlier by Rowley but now she was completely terrified of her own father. It didn't take long for the girl to look over at her mother, seeking some form of reassurance from the woman who was a little more sensitive.

"No, no Janeway you didn't do anything wrong." Kathryn reassured her.

Q was a little confused now. Had she not just told him to punish little Q? "Kathryn, yes she has. You just told me you wanted me to parent her."

"Not to frighten her or just yell at her. That isn't parenting Q."

"Mommy." Young Janeway looked back to Kathryn as Q continued to shout.

"So you go from mother to mommy now. Trying to win sympathy Q?" His voice didn't change even a little as young Janeway cowered behind her mother even more, her eyes closed. In the corner of the room one of the picture frames that had fallen off the wall broke apart, the glass shattering is fragments of the frame flew across the room. His eyes shifted back to her, young Janeway clinging to Kathryn's arm. "You can't control that can you?" Q calmed down his tone of voice and glanced between the little girls projection and the broken frame. "You show fear and have a fear response like all humans. In most cases it's a scream, a cry, a tremor but for you it's an outburst of pure energy. A natural defense mechanism. You don't have a control of it. No more than other humans can keep from screaming." Carefully he walked over to her not wanting to make her feel frightened again. Despite the fact she was nothing more than a mental projection Q still gave her a comforting pat on the back. "You didn't let off these outbursts before because before you never felt fear. You didn't know what fear was until after the Vidiians took your mother from Voyager."

Young Janeway looked up at Q with watery eyes. "They hurt me, they made my arm hurt and my head hurt, I don't know why they just did. They wouldn't stop and they hurt mommy too. I couldn't stop them, I couldn't do anything." She was shaking again, clearly traumatized from the experience.

"That was a very scary situation to be in wasn't it. You felt helpless and alone but you weren't alone. You mother was there and we were doing everything in our power to come save the two of you. We would never let anything bad happen to you again." He tried to reassure her but her expression showed she wasn't comforted.

"But you didn't stop them that time, how do I know it won't happen again?" She had a point, without his powers he couldn't grantee her safety. This was what Janeway had spoken about, that fear of being helpless to protect her should something bad happen again. The worry and concern was something he was starting to understand now. Janeway had been correct, this feeling was very unpleasant. He couldn't insist he would be there to protect her. Without his powers that was not possible but he would try.

"You are right, I wasn't there this time and I might not be able to stop it a second time. But tell me this Q, who did save you and your mother? As far as I remember the person who did that was you. You hurt those men back who were hurting you. You saved yourself from being taken and later you saved your mother. You transported the two of you outside the lab, disabled the medical devices that would harm you. From the sound of it Q, you didn't need saving. Yes you were hurt, yes it wasn't pleasant, and yes it might have been worse but in the end you beat them. You beat some very scary monsters and you know what?"

She seemed comforted by his words now, the look of fear fading away as he spoke to her. "What?"

"You are only this big." He showed her how tiny he was with the space between his fingers. "You haven't even been born yet and yet you made those big scary monsters fear you."

"I did?"

"Of course, how else did you make that Vidiian send your mother back?" She was pondering it a moment before she got a renewed look on her face. "I bet that Vidiian didn't know what he had gotten himself into."

"He didn't like me shorting out his tools." She spoke in a quiet tone, still a little timid.

"And I bet he wouldn't have liked you shocking him like you did the others. I bet that hurt them as much as they had hurt you. So you see Q, you don't have to be afraid. I can't promise your mother and I will always be there to protect you but I'll do my best as will she. There may be days when we can't stop someone from trying to hurt you, but trust me when I say this Q. You won't be helpless on those days. You will be the one leaving behind the fear in others."

"But I don't want to be a monster."

Just when he got her to no longer fear the outside world he now made her fear herself. Q didn't know which was worse. Resting his hands on her shoulders he felt a little strange trying to physically comfort her when she wasn't really here to begin with. "You aren't a monster Q, you won't ever be a monster. You have a good heart, monsters don't have good hearts. If you were a monster you would have hurt that man who hurt you. Why didn't you?"

"Because, he said he had a little girl like me. She was very ill. All he wanted was to save her life. He told me he loved her a lot, just like you and mommy love me. I bet she loved him a lot too, I didn't want to hurt him because then she would have been sad."

"See." Q smiled at her. "That isn't something a monster would say." Rather awkwardly he pulled her into a little hug and patted her on her back. Hopefully this was what Janeway had expected when she asked him to parent. He was still new to this, it was a strange concept having to direct someone else without insulting their intellect. "Now, and just so there isn't another misunderstanding I want you to meet someone I think you will find very interesting." Looking back behind him he let out a little whistle. The shaking form of Rowley emerged from the safety of his crate. His brown eyes shifting over to the thing that had frightened him and instantly the pup tucked his tail. "Don't worry boy, I think we have her under control now." Slowly the pup crawled closer to the two humans and the girl who had hurt him earlier. "This young Q is what we call a dog. They are man's best friend so I am told and since you are part human I would assume he would be your best friend as well."

"Oh?" She looked back at the dog and furrowed her brow. "What does it do?"

"Well, it plays, barks, sometimes it piddles in front of the door if you don't let him out." Q joked trying to laugh it off until he saw the look on Kathy's face. She wasn't too amused with the fact Q had slacked in his duty to keep Rowley under control. "He's called Rowley."

The younger Q got down on her knees and reached her hand out to him trying to tempt the animal over to her. "Hi Rowley, you are a dog? I'm a person, I'm called Janeway." The pup was hesitant at first, his tail remained tucked until the young Q moved forward and pet his head. Tail happily wagging she got closer to the pup and giggled. "I like you Rowley, lets be friends." The pup looked up at her slobbering on her face though she didn't show much reaction to it. Mostly because like a hologram she couldn't feel her face being covered in dog drool. "I'm sorry I made you afraid Rowley. I know how scary that feels and I promise I'll make sure you don't feel it again. We can look after each other even. Okay?" The pup barked at her making the girl smile again. "Okay."

"You handled that, much better than I could have ever imagined. Maybe you are cut out for being a father after all." Kathryn smiled at him and helping him off the ground. Since becoming human he was learning the pain of point stiffness. Being billions of years old really got to a man after a while.

"Was that a compliment from you Kathy? Color me surprised." He nudged her lightly and grabbed her arm quickly not wanting to set off some random panic attack in their hyperactive caffeinated offspring. Resting a hand over her belly he mouthed a quiet apology to her before moving his finger to his lips to keep her quiet about the ordeal. "Like you said Kathy, it's not as easy as snapping your fingers but I think I have it covered. At least until she becomes a teenager. I hear you humans can be so rebellious after a certain age." Q rolled his eyes. "If you manage to get Voyager home by then I'll be applying locking mechanisms on her windows and door to keep her from those Romeo and Juliet runaways." Kathy started laughing making Q feel like she was mocking him. "Oh you laugh now Kathryn but so help me if is anything like you we will be in over our heads."

"I can imagine."


	13. Is It Love?

After the pup had been tired out and little Q could no longer exert the power to project herself Q found himself alone in the room with Janeway picking up the room a little. "So you still haven't told me why you are mortal." It would happen sooner or later, he couldn't creep in the shadows about what events had caused him to become mortal. Though he wished he could have kept it secret from her at least. It was going to be difficult to explain not because it was above her mental processing power but because it was so horribly below his own. It wasn't a common problem for a Q, in fact he was almost certain he was the first to fall into this problem.

"No, I haven't." Kathryn raised her brow and looked him over. Not that it was necessarily her business to know but he had promised to tell her. Now he was starting to regret it.

"What did you do to anger the continuum this time? Unless you have changed your mind then I would very much appreciate it if you could leave so I can clean up this mess."

Q raised his brow and put on a devilish grin. "Why, do I distract you Kathy?"

"No, you test my patience." She looked like she was going to tell him to get out and so Q finally set aside his ego to admit something he dared no say out loud.

"Oh, alright I'll tell you but don't let it get to your head Kathy. The only one who needs an ego on this ship is me." The look on her face said she didn't agree with his statement.

"Just remember Q, you are mortal now."

"Oh Kathy, was that a threat?" He raised his voice a pitch and looked her over with that menacing little spark in his eyes. "How attractive." He crept a little closer to her until she gave him another one of her classic death glares. She was so beautiful when she was angry, she was so beautiful when she was doing anything. She could have been running down the hall with snot hanging out of her nose, well maybe not snot running down her nose, that was disgusting, but the point was she still would have been beautiful if not a little disgusting. "And I still intend to tell you how I managed to become mortal." As uncomfortable as it would be. "There are few rules in the continuum. Though the rules have decreased quite a bit lately. Still two things remain the same, to not interfere with the natural cycle of sentient species such as human history."

"Which you have broken, several times from what I understand." She interrupted him and pressed a finger to her forehead feeling like she would get a headache from his explanation.

"And I have now broken the other unbreakable rule."

"Well, that must be historic for you. Sounds like you have finally broken all the rules in the continuum." She joked.

"Not funny." He sighed. Still he hadn't really explained everything, only that he had broken another rule. Could he leave it at that? No. "The second rule is to never get involved on a more private level with a sentient species, well strictly anything that goes above or beyond simple pleasure at least."

"Involved?" He could tell she was curious, that tone of voice, that look on her face, that sort of concerned glint in her eyes as if she was walking in on something she hadn't wanted to see.

"Such as, falling in love for example. We are not allowed to fall for a lesser species. It would be forbidden because our emotions would cause us to act against most of our laws. Use our powers, abuse our powers to protect and improve the lives of those we cared for. Could you imagine the chaos if Q were allowed to alter history for those they cared about? I was called into question over my attachment to a certain person. I was able to convince them I had no intentions of being in a relationship with a simple primitive little beings nor that I had any feelings for one. They believed me until I acted as they knew I would. I used my powers to defend one person on this ship, they saw it, they realized I showed more than a simple affection for a mortal, and they acted to prevent what they foresaw as a disaster waiting to happen by making me equivalent to my chosen mate." He paused and let out a little sign. "I suppose snapping a number of Vidiian's into a supernova was a little bit drastic. I could have just put them outside the airlock."

This was the second time he seemed to have surprised her, the first being when she discovered they were having a baby girl. Or perhaps it was the fact that their baby girl had just showed up out of the blue unannounced that had surprised her. Little Q did take after him in that regards. No concept of timing or calling ahead to give fair warning. Now this little bit of information left her with the same look in her eyes, Kathy slowly set herself on the edge of the bed and ran through his conversation once again holding her finger up to stop him from interrupting her. "Let me get this straight." She finally spoke up and leaned back a little on the bed. "You lost your powers, were turned into a mortal, and are stranded on my ship because..." She paused again and titled her head to the side. "You have feelings for me?"

"To say I just have feelings for you is making it a little impersonal. I admit it surprises me as much as it surprises you. It started as a little crush when I first met you, a sort of respect that came later with how you were so valiant to aid Quinn, but that night you told me to get out of your room I knew it was too late for me, I was going to break the greatest rule of them all. That command in your voice, that superiority, the fearlessness. Kathy, my heart was all a flutter. Then with the war breaking out, my idea to inject the continuum with your human idea's and concepts, I admit I never thought you would agree, I know how stubborn you are but you did to both of our surprise. From there my little crush went from a like, to a lust, to what I would consider full blown love. I think, no I know I love you Kathryn. You are the most remarkable human female I have ever encountered, the most interesting female of any species I have encountered, dare I say, you can make the mighty fall."

"Oh." That was all she could say, not to admit she had thoughts about the two of them. There were moments where she considered something more than being a co parent for Q's child, she could even admit she had feelings towards him the night they had made little Janeway and perhaps she had what he described as a crush and even lust for him but love wasn't what she experienced so far unless a love hate relationship could be counted.

"Too soon?" He asked with a hint of concern.

"So, you love me then?" She cocked a brow not certain if she could take his words as fact.

"Yes, enough to have given up my mortality and become human and I must say it was better than the other option which would have been to never see you again. I did promise you after all to be beside you not just for our child but for you as well. It seems mortality would be much easier, especially if I spend it by your side. How bad could it be? I can be trapped with you here in the Delta Quadrant, acquire a position on your ship, make it home to Earth with you and perhaps take up a teaching job. I still know more than any human could ever imagine, I am certain my intellect would be valued on earth. We can live successful lives, you a respectable Admiral like you father one day and I a renowned scientist, grow old together and even...one day die." His voice softened towards the end, the idea of death, of vanishing completely, being gone, missing the rest of eternity. All that history he would never witness. Could he live with that? Could he live with the alternative? Live forever while Kathryn grew older and older? Watch her wither away and do nothing about it? Watch her one day die and live the rest of eternity without her? Humans lived short lives, she would live a short life, now he could at least live a short life with her. As for junior that would be difficult. One day Kathryn and Q would be gone but their offspring might live forever. After all she was part Q, immortality was a likely in her little repertoire of powers. "Does that bother you?"

"No, not at all." She still sounded a little distant, a little lost in her thoughts.

"Then why do you look so unhappy?"

"Q, it's not that I am unhappy, I just have a lot to think about."

"This wasn't the life you expected? But you always say humans like the unexpected. You leave your children's genders up to fate, play some of the most confusing courting games of any species, you are a species who finds joy in the unknown, losing control, seeking the unknown."

"I'm the captain of this ship, I can't like your species get attached to anyone, get too close. I have to make the biggest choices on this ship so I can get us all home. I have the biggest responsibility here and I owe it to them..."

"I know, nobility and loneliness, they don't go hand in hand Kathryn. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. It's not the first time I have been mortal. You don't have to be Voyagers sacrificial lamb Kathy. Besides you have to admit it, the reason you took up my offer that night was because you realized you could have a life and get this ship home. You are more than capable of that. You are not immune to pairing off as you call it and everyone deserves love."

"Q..."

He cut her off and grabbed her hand pulling her back onto her feet and making her fall into his arms. "Oh shut it Kathy, the more you deny it the truer it becomes." He leaned her back thinking back on the night he had asked her first to be the mother of his child. The flutter of butterflies in his stomach. Being mortal had some advantages, he certainly understood the passion of humans better. "And I am going to love you like every day could be our last." Pressing his lips against hers he kissed her trying to be so careful with her. Not because he feared hurting her but because he feared her hurting him. When he felt Kathryn's arms wrap around his neck he couldn't hold back the little smug smile that pulled at his lips and removed him from their kiss. Life with her was going to feel just as worthy as living an eternity.


	14. Do You Like Lizards?

"Ensign Q reporting for duty." He stepped into the sickbay wearing the teal and black colored uniform marking him look as one of the science officers on the ship.

"Ensign? Since when?" The Doc scoffed and turned his back on Q.

"Since I got on my knees and begged Kathy...Captain Janeway to give me a position on the crew. I know Starfleets manual back to front, all standard stuff, easy to follow, I know starfleet protocol like the back of my hand, and I am more than qualified to be a science officer." He stuck his chin up in the air trying to show off some superiority but the Doc was not buying it.

Handing Q a hypo spray the Doc replied with a sassy tone. "You are a glorified nurse, now please administer this to Ensign Jates, they sprained their ankle." he paused and looked back at Q wondering if he would need to explain the procedure more to the newcomer. "You do know how to administer a hypo spray correct?"

Q took it like a cat swatting as string, his fingers clutching the spray tightly. "Of course I do, don't insult me."

"That would be yes sir to you, don't forget Ensign Q I am your superior."

Now that got under the ex super beings skin which made the doctor all the more giddy. "Yes, Sir." Rather slowly he walked over to the patient, a rather annoyed looking Ensign Jates. No one really likes him on Voyager, even Kathy didn't like him sometimes. He had this superiority complex that bothered them and sometimes the crew questioned his respect for the captain and more so his intentions with banded up behind her and loved her up, standing in defense for her honor like a bunch of school children defending their favorite school teacher. She might have been their teacher but she was his equal and that was saying a lot from him. Even before he became human Kathryn had been his equal, it's why he had picked her to be his mate. Pressing the hypo spray into the patients neck he pulled back on the trigger and looked back to the Doc. "What is this for?"

Kes glanced over at her good friend with a little smile on her face trying to hide the fact she thought it was a little funny to see the Doctor actually turn a little red. Kes might have been the only person who thought Q was a real feeling human being now. She was more patient with him than others and when he went chasing after the captain she called it sweet rather than pathetic. "You just injected the patient with an unknown substance? You didn't even bother to ask me about it before?"

"Well you didn't tell me." Q replied and cocked a brow.

"I thought you would have known, ex super being and all...do you see what they send me to work with." He huffed and let his hand fall to his side. "At this rate people will be dying from hangnails and sprained wrists. I gave you diclofenac, and anti inflammatory medication to help with the swelling in her ankle and ease the pain. Next time you don't know what you are giving the patient ask." He caught his artificial breath and rolled his eyes to show his annoyance.

"Go easy on him Doctor he's new to this." Kes added with one of her bright little smiles. He could actually see himself liking Kes. Perhaps one day he would sit down and have lunch with her when he wasn't so busy following Kathryn around and telling her to sit down and give some more tasks to Chuckles so she could relax.

"Well then, there you are, all better you can run along for duty or whatever it is you people do." Q sassed at the Ensign who gave him another one of those disproving glances. "If it's alright with the Doctor that is."

The Doc raised a brow and set down one of his tools before picking up another and looking it over. "She can be excused but come back tomorrow so I can be certain it's recovering."

"This is so boring, when do we start on something exciting? Like saving someone from the brink of death?" Q moved away from the beds. "Isn't this a Starfleet ship? Shouldn't it be full of injured and dying people from some warp core accident or plasma burns? Maybe a wound to the chest from phaser fire."

The Doctor slammed down another instrument and glared at Q. "It's not all about treating fatal injuries. Most days it's treating a minor cut, an upset stomach, even the occasional common cold. We are not in constant threat of death on this ship. I would like to think our captain is a little more capable than that. Don't you agree?" He raised a brow and glanced back at Q knowing the ex god being wouldn't want to say anything bad about Captain Janeway. He might get locked up in the brig for the remainder of the ride home.

"Oh, I would never underestimate her abilities to run this ship. I question her crew though." He crossed his arms and glared back at the Doctor. "Picard got the best of the best, Captain Janeway got...you lot. I'm impressed with how far she has come with this crew. I commend her on her skills and control in any situation." Wouldn't she be so proud of him kissing her ass. The Doctor gave him another dissatisfied glare but at this time that was the best Q could hope for from anyone on Voyager.

"Doctor if I may. I could take Q over the instruments we use and give him a catalog of things he might need to know while working in sickbay. That is if he decides to stay in sickbay with us." Kes interrupted with her sweet calming voice and warm smile.

"If it gets him out of my sight, then please do. Thank you Kes." The Doc growled a little something under his breath afterwards. He had taken an oath to never harm anyone or anything but in this case he might make a pass for Q.

So for several hours Q slaved away learning about the simple primitive tools used by the humanoids to correct silly things like broken bones and illness. They truly were fragile creatures, a simple sneeze could become fatal for them it seemed. With each new disease and ailment he learned about it amazed him that he now counted himself among these creatures. What was going to kill him first he wondered. A hormonal Captain or a scrape to the knee? Looking over a little more information Kes had given him while she worked on bacterial cultures he was pulled away from his work when he noticed no one was near the Doctors terminal. Snooping around a little never hurt anyone and looking at a few medical files felt like snooping into someones diary. It gave him a better idea about the crew as well. Cracking into the terminal was child's play, even without his powers Q retained his brilliance and cunning. Nothing in this universe could take that away from him. As his fingers played across the screen he leaned back glancing over some little medical incidents with Paris and and interesting file reported on Vorik and Pon Farr. "I shouldn't have expected anything less." The Doctor spoke up as he walked to the door again. "Half an hour late? But I'm not surprised. She's always the last person to report to sick bay, she could be close to death and still find a way to get out of coming here. I am starting to think the Captain dislikes me."

Kes laughed behind him and tried her best to put his mind at ease. "It's not that she dislikes you. I am sure she is just busy is all. The Captain is a very busy woman."

"A very busy woman who still hasn't come in for her weekly checkup. I told her I wouldn't bother her if it wasn't important but there are plenty of reasons for concern. One being this is her first pregnancy, the second being that the unusual abilities that little, creature, displays takes a toll on both of them. She needs to be closely monitored for her own safety." Q huffed and looked up another file, as if little Q was going to somehow harm her own mother. Even accidentally little Q didn't have it in her. Certainly she could blow up picture frames and make the electrical fields of tools destabilize but she was hardly dangerous, yet. Looking around the terminal again he got a devious grin on his face. Oh goody, something interesting.

"Besides I thought you looked at the Captain a few days ago." Kes added.

"I tried but it's difficult when one of your patients can shut off a medical tricorder with it's mind."

Turning away from the terminal he quickly went back to where it had been left before his tampering. "I could help with that." He raised his voice as he stood up and moved away from the terminal. "Q is a little shy."

"Shy?" The doctor snapped. "She projects her conscious self outside the womb so she can say hi. That's not what I consider shy."

"That is true but she only does that because she's as curious as she is shy. After all you can't expect something who is half human to just magically obtain all the knowledge of the continuum. She has to start her learning curb early to catch up with the rest of us. If we just let her know it all the instant she existed well, you would be scooping tiny brains off the walls."

"Comforting." The Doc interrupted wondering if that had disturbed Q as much as it had disturbed him.

"I would say for something that started out with the IQ of a pickle she's done well for herself. Still trying to grasp the concept of a cup but...smart." He paused and looked over his fingernails as if he was debating trimming them or getting a manicure. "I could get her to cooperate with your scanning and tests. She won't let you otherwise, she doesn't trust you. Not since the Vidiians. I don't blame her, the hostility this crew shows against me, she's a sensitive little thing, it would only seem expropriate she feels the same hostility against herself." Honestly little Q was as naive as a potato chip, she wouldn't know if crew members disliked her even if they said it to her face. That was perhaps one of the better parts of innocence. The other being she could say things that would get him slapped but because she didn't know better it was forgivable.

"Now the real miracle would be can you get the Captain to sickbay?"

Q gave a devious little grin before glancing back to the Doctor. "Now that you mention it, I think I can."

Q gallivanted into her ready room not bothering to knock before or even announce his presence. He never did so why bother starting now that he was mortal? Certainly it was less fun when you couldn't just appear and disappear. "Hello my beautiful vibrant rose. You are posativly glowing today. With the light of a thousand stars she sparkles, the breaths of a thousand winds she moves my heart." He rested a hand on his chest hoping he had softened her up enough. Kathryn was ignoring him as usual, likely fearful he was going to suggest she eat something before it was the end of the world and everyone on the ship died, or go lay down because she seemed snappy and needed rest. "How are you today Kathryn? I mean Captain?" She was allowing him to be a member of the crew for now, an Ensign even. The captain had said he would likely never get a promotion or a real career at Starfleet because of his personality but one could hope. "And Junior?"

Shifting in her chair she sat back resting her arm on her desk and partially closing her eyes as if the light in the room was too bright. "Exhausted, you snore."

"I do? I'm sorry."

"Loud enough Chakotay could hear you in the hall when he walked by. He asked me when we let a bear on the ship."

"Very sorry. I have never been human before, I haven't needed sleep before." He stopped himself from getting too distracted by an apology and remembered why he was here. "Oh yes, Kathryn, Captain, as a possible new member to the medical team I am here to inform you to report to the Doctor in sickbay immediately. You don't look too busy right now so it shouldn't be a problem for you."

Suddenly she went from leaning back in her chair to sitting upright and trying to look busy. "I have so many reports to fill out. Maybe another day." If he didn't know better she was avoiding sickbay just like the Doctor had said.

"Do I have to remind you Kathryn, speaking as someone who cares about you and not just a member of your crew, this is your first child and the Doctor is concerned." He stopped and tilted his head to the side. "Or is it."

"What?" She looked back at him when he asked the question. What was he talking about.

"Is this really your first child I mean? If not then maybe you don't need to keep up with these constant checkups. I mean at your age, being a first time mother there are risks but if it wasn't your first time the risks would be a lot lower."

He got that death glare from her, it was in poor taste to talk about her age. As far as everyone on the crew was concerned she didn't have an age. Still he was up to something devious and she didn't like where it was going. "I don't know what you are getting at Q."

"Oh but you do Kathy, I have two words for you. Paris, lizards." Just like that he had surprised her a third time. He was getting very good at this. "So I understand if you know something the rest of the class doesn't know. This is clearly not your first child, in fact I think if I read correctly it's number 4 for you. Skip the checkups, who needs them anyways. You are clearly already an expert on child rearing..." Kathy got up quickly and walked over towards the ready room door. "Where are you going?" Q grinned.

"Sickbay." Maybe he wasn't sensitive but he got results.


	15. Party Crasher

Kathryn groaned as Q kissed at her neck, ordinarily he would have had a snowballs chance in hell bedding her more than just the one time but her hormones were starting to make her a little more randy and with his human libido he was more than happy to scratch the little itches she had. Q nearly squeaked with alarm and excitement when his lovely captain grabbed at his rear and nearly sent him falling down on top of her. "My my Kathy, for a woman who acts like such a prude you certainly are impatient when it comes to the bedroom." Q quipped.

"Only because you take a little too long, there is a fine line between teasing and torture." As much as he would enjoy a little round of foreplay banter his human mind was fixed on one thing and one thing alone. Pressing his lips back against hers he tried to keep his mouth shut and just rush things a little more before they ran into another sudden mood change where she was crying or throwing something at him. Those could always be fun.

"You know the anticipation is always the best part." He finally spoke up, what an idiot he was. What the hell was he doing? If he just kept his mouth shut they could be testing out the wall behind the bed for weak spots. Yes, that was what they were doing, making sure the ship was solid and sound. That was his story and he was sticking to it.

"That would be perfect for days when I'm not..." She cut herself off kissing him again. Q could keep his mouth shut but still he had to be witty and clever. This was always going to get in the way of him getting laid, it always had.

"Oh Captain, if I give a good performance will I get a promotion?"

"I can't guarantee a promotion but you most certainly will get a raise." He liked it when they played the pun game, wit and sex, who knew they went hand and hand? Q pulled up at the skirt of her nightgown feeling a little heartbroken when his fingers slipped against her underwear. Just another roadblock from his naughty boy time. Moving his kisses down along her chest he had a good idea what he was going to be up to now. As he continued to move down her fingers interlaced with his dark locks Q let out a happy little purr. As a proper provider for his mate it was up to him to do everything within his power to help her unwind and relax at the end of a stressful day. She certainly seemed relaxed now. As he worked to pull her underwear down he was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. At first he expected it to be Kathy, maybe an attempt to order him around a little. Though Q had to admit he liked it when she was bossy his mind was too sidetracked to take an order just now.

Instead the sound of the clearing voice happened again making Q look up to Kathy who didn't seem to make the attempt to interrupt them. Then the little shadow moved at the side of the bed making Q jump and scream like a girl of fifteen who had just witnessed the largest spider gallop across the picture of her school girl desires. It was enough to make Kathryn jump and pull the blankets up to her chest as the little figure stood there with that same wide eyes expression she always had. This was one of those moments wasn't it? Those moments parents dread most, and they weren't even real parents yet. "What are you doing?" Little Q asked inching slightly closer to her startled parental units.

"Nothing." Q gasped still trying to keep himself from having a heart attack. His hand clutching his chest as he sucked in air to catch his breath and maybe recover some of his manliness after his display. "I just dropped, something under the blankets..." Yes, that was a flawless recovery, he wasn't getting sex tonight.

"What's wrong?" Kathryn asked.

"What's wrong, I don't think our baby understands the concept of sleep." He growled back.

"Q, I wasn't talking to you." Kathryn responded and looked back at the delightful projection of their 'demigod' hellspawn. Certainly he didn't ordinarily think of her as a hellspawn but she was certainly ruining a good night for him right now.

"I'm afraid of the dark." She spoke up putting her hands near her mouth. "Can I sleep in bed with you?"

Q interrupted, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her. "You already are." Great now he really wasn't having sex tonight. Normally when Kathy got hot under the collar he was swept up so quickly by the hormonal hurricane she could be to think before he acted. Reminding himself that she was currently carrying their baby however made him feel like the last thing he wanted was to fool around even a little. What sort of parent would he be if he exposed his poor innocent unborn to common human mating rituals? A bad parent, that's what kind he would be. "I mean you are already in the bed because your physical body at current still resides somewhere in this general area." He waved over Kathryn's stomach. "Which as you can see is already here in the bed so you can go back to sleep now or whatever it is you do in the middle of the night."

"But it's dark..." She looked back at Q like he was stupid. Obviously to the small superbeing when you said you were afraid of the dark you were not going to go back to the dark place you were afraid of.

"So, you are going to sit here until you what? You exhaust yourself and pass out only to be still in this general area." He waved his hand back over Janeway's abdomen. "And what has that accomplished young Q?" She just continued to look at him with those wide frightened eyes. Logic was not her forte yet. "Q, do me a favor. Think of the numbers 777 over and over as hard as you can."

The little girl tilted her head tot he side slightly confused. "Why?"

He sat up in the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. "That's the Continuum emergency number. I'm going to have them revoke your powers."

Suddenly she understood something, that look of panic on her face. "No, then I'll be trapped. I don't ant to be trapped. I'll get lonely and bored, stuck in the dark..."She lost it now, she was rambling on incoherently. "I can't protect mommy." Now he wasn't going to get sex for the next few weeks. Feeling Kathy slap him in the chest with the back of her hand she went into typical sympathetic mother mode. This was his future, he was going to be constantly ganged up on by his own child and the will be mother of his child.

"Q, do you really want to frighten her again?" She was right, he had spent his replicator rations to replace nearly everything little Q had blown to holy hell last time she decided to have panic attacks. Kathryn patted her side of the bed like she did when she let Rowley climb up with them. "You can stay here until you fall asleep." Happily little Q astral projected her little self laying down between the two of them but to be completely expected. Why bother with all those little details like using doors when you could phase through them, or walking from one place to another when you could simply transport yourself with the blink of an eye? Why remain an unnoticeable little shimmer in your mothers eye when you could project yourself into a room and ruin your fathers rare night of fun?

"Well now you are here are you comfy?" He asked trying to hide the bitterness in his tone.

"I don't know, I can't actually feel if I am or not because I'm not really here." Was she sassing him back? Was she being sassy? If slapping her wouldn't also mean hitting Kathryn and possibly causing serious harm he would slap her, slap that smug little smile off her smug little face. What really got to him however was the fact she got it from him, she was using HIS sass on HIM.

"Hmm, lucky duck. These Starfleet issues sheets are horrible. Just wait until you get here in seven and a half months. You'll be wishing you could go back." That's right, live in ignorant happy bliss because once she was out here with everyone else she wasn't going to be so smug. She was going to have to put up with bright lights, broken air vets that sometimes vented cold air, and obnoxious people who always felt they could poke other peoples children. Q was going to laugh, he was going to stand back and laugh manically at her suffering or minor discomfort. Yet deep down inside he knew the second she made a peep, a squeak, a shriek he would be the first to jump an run over to her. Pamper her, baby her, and ask her if she would like a golden bridle to go with that pony. "Goodnight little Q." He finally muttered and patted her on the head.

"Goodnight daddy" She smiled at him. "I love you." Q laid back putting a hand on his chest and feeling like he had just been struck with lightning. She was either highly manipulative or impossibly sweet. Little Q was certainly his, spawn of hell or not.


	16. Electrical Phenomenon

"What about Jean Luc." He suggested as he spun around in the chair at her desk.

"Q, I am not naming our daughter Jean Luc."

"Why not? It's a good strong name. I like it, besides then she would be named after her Godfather."

Kathy sat up from her position on the sofa and shot him that look she did when she didn't approve of something. "And you are going to tell Captain Picard he's a Godfather in 70 years when he has already passed away?"

Q tapped his finger on the PADD. "No, I'll write him a letter. He'll be thrilled. So Jean Luc it is." Q nodded his head and got out of the chair walking over to where she was seated. Crouching down beside her he put on his best baby voice as he rubbed her belly. "Isn't that right little Jean." Over the past few months Kathryn was finally starting to show now. Not enough to make her change up her starfleet uniform but enough that it was no longer a question if there was a little Q growing in there.

"No." She gave him that look again. "I have Claire, Joan, and Willow."

"Claire reminds me of a pastry, Joan, lets not plan for our child to be burned at the stake is all I am saying. Willow? The tree?" If he couldn't have his name then she wasn't going to use any of those silly names for his little angel.

Kathy let out a sign, she was getting frustrated now. "We have been at this for months and we still don't have a name. We can't keep calling her Q or Janeway. She is going to need a name."

"How about Quincy, after Quinn. It's thanks to him our little miracle exists." He fell back into his baby voice.

"I'm not naming our daughter Quincy either."

"Captain, we are picking up an electrical phenomenon off the port bow." Chakotay's voice rang over the intercom in her ready room.

"It seems we will have to keep looking for names later. I'll be on the bridge, you should get back to sickbay."

Q stood up and helped her to her feet. He wasn't just going to leave her hanging, poor little Kathy already complained of back pains and dizziness. "Are you expecting someone casualties?"

"No, I just want everyone at their station should the worst happen." She nodded knowing very well if there was a hint of danger he wouldn't leave her side. He wouldn't be much use to them outside of sickbay unless he intended to take scans and readings from the phenomenon.

"Alright, be careful Kathy." He hugged her tight getting a bad feeling about this. As if deep down inside whatever small fragment of his lost Q abilities were screaming into the back of his mind to have them turn this ship around, to run. Maybe this was what they called human worry or a gut instinct. He couldn't tell Kathryn about it, she would play it off as him begin paranoid or over protective which he might very well be. After all if something was wrong certainly little Q would come barking and she was no where to be found. Kathryn walked back onto the bridge as Q heading for the turbo lift to get to medical. "Don't blow the ship up while I'm gone." He joked to the bridge crew before vanishing out the door, they still didn't like him but at least they were giving him more of a chance now. Some were even civil with him.

With all the command of a queen she stood up on the bridge and gave her orders. "Mr. Paris, chart a course towards the electrical phenomenon. I want to get a closer look."

"Aye aye captain." His typical suave cocky tone dripped from every word. "We should be in visual range within a few minutes."

"Good, bring it up on screen." She ordered watching as an image of space showed up before them. In the distance they could see a blue glow that pulsed like a heartbeat. The closer they got the more detail they could make out from it, the energy swirling in a circular rotation moving clockwise. At it's core a brighter white light flickering in an out. Certainly it was a beautiful sight, something none of them had seen before. The closer the ship got the brighter it flashed, almost reacting to them as if it was aware, alive.

"We are almost within scanning range."

"Thank you Mr. Paris." Kathryn stepped down to move closer to the con, her body being frozen almost solid when she felt every muscle in her body tense up at once but not enough to cause her pain. Only enough to hold her in place, to keep her from getting closer to Paris.

"No, turn the ship around." The small girl in the red uniform showed up behind her, she moved frantically towards her mother, eyes fixed on the image up on the screen. "Turn Voyager around NOW." She screamed nearly grabbing for Toms shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Kathryn asked, her voice quiet. She has seen fear on little Q's face before but this wasn't just fear, this was utter terror.

The little girl backed away from the con station, her eyes growing wide as she watched the energy mass change rotations, reacting to her own energy output. The rotation spun faster, the light beaming brighter while she slowly backed up towards where Chakotay was standing. The whispering ringing in her ears though no one else could hear it. Slowly that bright brilliant and beautiful blue light turned black, the energy emitting a low hum as it spun. "It's too late mommy, he knows I'm here." With a loud piercing shriek from the energy source it sent off a wave of black light that easily engulfed Voyager in seconds. The systems were going offline, the ship shaking against the shock wave as bolts of pure blue energy ripped through the bridge and blew out the controls on the tactical and con stations. Janeway fell over catching herself on the ground as little Q let out a scream. A bolt of energy striking the captain through the shoulder and causing her to cry out in pain. Almost instantly the blood started running from the wound, the skin and fabric around it burnt. More bolts sputtered and bounced off the walls striking other members of the bridge crew. At this rate the wave was going to shake the ship apart.

"Captain the shields are gone." Tovock warned.

"I lost controls to the aft thrusters." Paris chimed in.

They had no defense, no way to run, and no way to stand their ground. Without those shields this ship would opened up like a tin can by those shock waves. "Captain the warp core is offline." Paris spoke up as another wave hit the ship making it shake again, more beams of light ripping through the hull and causing breaches throughout the ship.

"Hull breaches on decks eleven and five." Tuvock announced.

"Reroute energy to the shields." Kathryn gasped holding a hand over the hole that had been burned through her shoulder.

"NO." The little voice was more commanding than anyone thought possible. A sense of determination fixed on little Q's face as she stood her ground, her eyes fixed on the screen. Though the image faded in and out she kept her eyes locked on the rotating electrical storm, her jaw set tight. "Put everything towards the thrusters, get us out of here. I'll take care of the shields."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Kathy asked looking at her. She didn't know why but she couldn't trust little Q. That look on her face, it wasn't like her daughter. It was too serious, too knowing for someone who still didn't grasp the concept of passing time.

"I have more power than you can comprehend. I intend to tap into my unused potential. I can creates more energy than your own primitive warp core, I can easily shield the ship with that energy outburst." The girl walked forward placing her hands down on the floor of the ship. "You just focus on running before he rips this thing apart." As she closed her eyes the ship felt like it was vibrating, the walls looking somehow brighter as the shimmer ran along the sides of Voyager and breached the outside. Within seconds the entire ship looked like a gem sparkling in the sunlight, fractals of light spinning off it's metal surface and whipping out at the empty black energy field. With another electrical burst sent out this time Voyager remained stationary. The energy wave being pushed around the ship and sent crashing at it's end forcing the ship closer to the energy mass. "Do it now or I'll die." Little Q yelled looking like she was losing her luster. She couldn't hold a shield up over the whole ship for long.

"Reroute all energy to the thrusters. If we have to limp out of here we will." Paris got to work fast now that they had a window of opportunity.

"If she can hold that shield up for one more burst I can use the shock wave behind us to help push us along with these thrusters."

"Can you do that?" Kathryn turned to look at the little girl, she was clearly exhausted but not giving up yet.

"Just do it." Kathryn nodded at Tom as he got ready. The next energy wave like before passed around the ship, rippling over the hull and being forced back by little Q's shield. When it hit the back of Voyager and pushed her forward Paris fired up the thrusters and used the shock wave to ride pas the energy phenomenon. Despite the young Q's shield Voyager shook violently, a few more bolts of energy ripping through the hull where the shield had weakened.

"Almost through." Paris let them know. Another second and one of those bolts made contact with young Q lighting her up like a lightning storm. Blue bolts shifting over her body. She held true to keeping the shield up but showed Superior strain now. "We had it out of range of the electrical anomaly." Paris finally yelled out feeling the ship smooth out. No sooner had he said those words little Q collapsed to the ground, the blue energy still running over her projected body.

"Get these people to sickbay." Kathryn stood back up still holding her shoulder. A few of the crew on the bridge were in worse shape than she was. They needed immediate medical attention.

"I would advise you to accompany them Captain." Tovock added looking at the blood running between her fingers.

"I think for the first time in a while I agree with that Tuvock." Her eyes shifted back over to where little Q had been and still remained. If she was injured then why wasn't her concentration severed? Shouldn't her projected self have vanished by now? Pressing on her com badge she tried contacting Q, a sound of urgency in her voice. "Q, report to the bridge, it's Jean Luc, somethings wrong with her." As much as she didn't want to use that name it seemed like the only one to describe which Janeway was in trouble.


	17. Teth

Q had to carry little Q into sickbay since she was too busy stopping her arm from bleeding to do it herself. This wasn't normal, not in what they had come to know as normal anyways. Resting her down on one of the beds he turned to Kathryn and placed a hand over hers to help her stop the bleeding. "You need to have the doctor look at you Kathy, I'll take care of her." How he was going to take care of a mental projection was beyond him but he was going to have to try. Helping to sit her down on one of the beds the Doctor came over to scan her with the tricorder and get to work repairing her wound. As Q walked over to the projection of his small child he himself wondered why she hadn't just gone away yet. It would have been easier, her projected self certainly couldn't be harmed, it wasn't her physical form after all. As he reached out to grab the girls shoulder she rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling, her green eyes turned to near solid black. That uneasy emotionless expression on her face that she had held on the bridge when raising the shield. "Q?" He spoke, his voice soft, something was very wrong with her. Slowly she sat up looking over her hands and touching her face, a sort of confusion crossing her face. "Janeway?" Slowly her attention turned to him, sliding her legs over the side of the bed she jumped down seeming startled by her own ability to feel the ground beneath her feet.

Resting a hand on her chest she glanced over to Kathryn, a sadness coming to her expression. "I'm so sorry." She spoke int hat same mature tone of voice from the bridge. That tone of voice that sounded nothing like their little girl. That innocents replaced by what seemed like a fade old look, those hollow black eyes shifting back to the ground. She couldn't look Kathryn in the eye after to apology, too pained by her mistake.

"Sorry for what?"

The girl walked away from the bed, shoulders slumped over. "I didn't mean for this to happen but you were getting too close, he sensed her. I had to save you, keep you from the fate of my people. Keep her from becoming what I have become."

Kathryn couldn't be contained on her own bed now as she stood up and walked closer to the being standing before them. "What do you mean? Who are you?"

"I didn't mean for this to happen." It continued, that look of defeat clear on it's face.

"I'll ask this one last time, who are you? What have you done?"

Slowly the girl's face turned to Kathryn, "I am Teth, last son of Valserium. I have been fighting to keep that, being, contained for over two hundred millennium. I thought never again would he awake to do to others what he had done to my people until you arrived. He would not have noticed your ship if not for a member of your crew. One who is unlike the others, one who woke him, the one he has been waiting for. Once he sensed her I knew I only had one chance to help you escape less he took her as he has my own kind. I attached my own energy signature to this form, it was simple enough as her own energy signature is close to that of my peoples. But I only intended to stay until the ship was clear. I was to leave this form and this ship once you were free, to restrain him once again. His energy must have damaged us both, prevented me from separating and now I'm afraid I won't be able to leave this body." With every second that passed he felt more and more his own energy signature settling into this form, their signatures too similar for the child's to naturally reject his own.

"If you have taken over her projected form then she should be alright correct? She can just project herself again?" Q questioned being rather hopeful.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. I can feel her neural pathways running through me, this form isn't just projected energy or thought, this is everything she is outside of the physical realm." The Doctor seemed to turn his concern from Janeway and moved to scan over her abdomen feeling he understood this, Teth. What he was trying to explain, as Q had said this astral projection business was indeed dangerous. It involved more brainpower than a developing fetus could naturally muster and because of that it seemed little Q was forced to throw every last ounce of her mental capacity beyond her physical form just to prevent herself from harming Kathryn and her own fragile mind. If that was so then, the doctor paused, a grim expression fixed on his face.

"She's brain dead." He nearly dropped the tricorder in his hand, slowly closing it as he looked between Janeway and Q.

"What?" Kathryn nearly fell over feeling panicked, light headed. She wanted to attack this Teth and at the same time she didn't know if she had the strength to do so.

"The baby's brainwaves are just, gone. Her vitals are still functioning but as far as these readings go she's brain dead. If your own body didn't supply her with the basic functions to survive her body would shut down by now. I don't think there is anything I can do."

Q ran over to Janeway catching her in his arms as she started losing her balance. She just hung in his arms holding him tightly. How could this have happened to them? Taking the captains hand Q held it tight, Janeway was shaking now as she held back her tears, completely devastated. "What can we do doctor?" Q asked running his hand down along her back.

"Eventually, eventually it's going to experience physical death, at that point it could cause a risk to the captain. It would be best to induce premature labor now and..." He stopped talking, it was just an easy explanation of the procedure but even he couldn't stomach to listen to the words. Miscarriages happened naturally in the human world and other humanoid species. It was painful but they were worked through. This wasn't just an ordinary situation however. Because of the little Q's powers she had met the crew, she interacted with them, they all felt they knew her now. Like she was apart of this big family on Voyager and losing her would be more than just some miscarriage to work through. It would be the death of a crew member. "ease the process a little more."

"No." Kathryn growled back holding Q tighter. "I'm not going to let you kill her."

"Captain, I don't know how much more delicately I can put this but she's already dead. Cardiac arrest can be fixed with modern medicine, respiratory damage, death of most vital organs but the brain can't be restored. That is the one thing science can't fix. It would be no different than taking a brain dead patient off life support. No matter how long you keep the body alive you can't bring them back."

Four months ago she hadn't wanted a child with Q, three months ago she felt trapped and regretful. She had wished she hadn't gotten pregnant in the first place, two months ago she felt hopeful about her situation, and only a month ago she realized how excited she had become to be a mother. Seeing Ensign Wildman with her own daughter Naomi made Janeway look forward to the day she would get to hold and coddle her own daughter. All the possibilities she had imagined for the girl had filled her mind at night, would she be drawn to science like her mother? Would she grow up to join starfleet? Would she one day look out at earth and feel as happy to see it as her mother? Would she become a captain, an admiral? Would she leave her for the continuum one day? Would she have a good heart? Would she be a good person? Would she as much of a pain as her father could be? All of those possibilities for her future were fading away. Janeway would never get her first hello, her daughters first word, her first steps, her first love. She was going to lose it all now. Curling up against Q she sobbed into his shoulder not wanting to fall apart now when the crew still needed her but she couldn't put on a brave face and pretend to be strong. Q held her tighter feeling her grip at the collar of his shirt loosen, her hands falling to her side as she cried against him. "There has to be another way, please." People would say it was easy enough to just have another one but it wouldn't be the same. Without his powers it wouldn't be the messiah of the Q he had wanted but more than that it wouldn't be his little Jean Luc. That peppy little girl he had come to love so much. It wouldn't be his daughter he had invested so much in already and honestly if his child died now he wouldn't want to 'replace' her with another. If he couldn't have this child then he never wanted any. "Something you haven't thought of, you claim to be the most advanced medical program then you must know of something, anything." He was raising his voice in anger and frustration. He wasn't giving up on little Q, not now, not ever.

Slowly from the corner of the room Teth walked forward. "This is my fault, I will remedy this any way I can. It's not completely hopeless. Everything she is is in here. I can feel it, I can feel her and her concern for the both of you. I know that if she had to end her own life to save you then she would but I also know she loves you unconditionally. If I try to do this it could prove dangerous to your captain, it could prove dangerous to your child, it could prove lethal to myself but I am willing to try to reintegrate her neural patters if you are willing to try."

"Could you do it?" Q asked feeling a little hopeful.

"Yes, I believe with help I could. It would likely end up causing her to lose this ability to project herself, it might even cause her to lose most of the memories she has formed up to this point." He narrowed his eyes, black orbs moving back to the ground. It could even cause his own death but if it meant setting right his own mistake then he had to try. To prevent harming the person he had tried to save. "I will need access to any information on your human physiology and anything about the species Q that might aid me in this. I may also need your doctor and the being called Kes. She has extraordinary abilities herself, we may need them."


	18. Will Find a Way

Kathryn was forced to remain in sickbay so the doctor could keep an eye on the baby in the event any major organs started shutting down he could stabilize them until they could get little Q back into her own brain. Teth walked out of sickbay following Q not at all surprised by it's ability to move far beyond any distant little Q was capable of. "I know, you are shocked I can pass beyond where you offspring could. That is because unlike she I am not tethered to this world by any physical means. When the accident happened even her own tether to her physical form was severed. I am now nothing more than pure energy condensed down into a psychical form. Likely not much different than yourself Q." Though the child's memories had pinned Q as something much like his daughter, an energy being, all powerful, unlimited like his long lost kin it seemed he was fairly human now. "You will find I'll be capable of moving around the ship effortlessly." Teth added pulling a rather awkward smile across little Q's face. It was strange seeing the girl smile at him now, he had grown so use to seeing her mothers smile pulled on her face so many times. His own expressive green eyes looking up at him, her mothers elegant yet daunting profile when she lifted up her chin. Now all he saw were those empty black orbs that seemed to reflect the abyss, that strange smile that didn't belong to Kathryn, and a strange sense of unbreakable grief.

"You mentioned fighting this being we encountered, to keep him from harming Q as he had harmed your own people. What happened to them?"

Teth continued to walk the halls with Q towards engineering so they could find more appropriate tools to disrupt energy fields. He was even interested in viewing the transporter room in the event they could separate their energy signatures and save them both. "My people were once a proud and powerful race, we had evolved beyond most beings shedding our physical forms and ascending as pure energy into the stars. We remained around our planet, living freely as one in the atmosphere to look down on the primitive species bellow us. Guarding them, our old home, we were harmonious and foolish. Likely no different than your own species Q, though we rarely took physical form. After shedding our bodies we could no longer take on a solid form unless the choice was made to retain it and live among the primitive beings. It seems you yourself have fallen from your own assention. To live with Captain Janeway?"

"Prying in my private life? I thought I was the one asking the questions here." Q snapped back.

"You would be correct, you did ask the question." Teth nodded it's head and folded it's hands acting more Vulcan that a Q. "We lived as naive beings, thought all powerful, above all with flesh until he came to our world. The Nexus. He has been called by many named by many races, the end times, the great serpent, demon, devil, the abyss, but ours came to call him the Nexus. A being of pure energy and great power. He too evolved as we did, shedding his physical form but unlike us he was different. He was a dark presence where we were light. Hatred where we were love. He could not harm physical beings, his powers locked away by others in the past but he was still able to harm other beings of pure energy like himself. He came to our world seeking a child who was born, a child who was not to be born. A child conceived of my own people and a member of the primitive race bellow. He seeked to have his influence over the physical world once again and he believed to enter the body of this child between worlds he could command both the physical and nonphysical world. We fought him, held him at bay so he could not impose himself on the child. In the end my species were all but destroyed. He had killed us one by one and absorbed our powers, our energy only making him stronger. He consumed my brothers and sisters until I alone stood in his way."

Q listened patiently before opening his mouth, a hint of concern held in his words. "And the child?"

Teth lowered it's head, his eyes closed. "I was left no other choice, I destroyed the child to prevent Nexus from taking him over. I used what power I had left to trap Nexus in his place, in my cage. I never thought again other beings like myself would find him, I never thought again other beings like myself would mate with flesh beings t create a child between worlds but now he knows. He knows she is out here and he will try to find her and possess her so he can rule again. I lost all of my people to stop him, I do not wish for another to make the same mistake."

"It must be hard, being the last of your kind, to have this burden on your shoulders, to be alone." Q added, he couldn't imagine if he was the last Q left. How lonely it would become.

Teth opened his eyes again, fighting back what appeared to be his own tears. "It was not as difficult as the choice I had to make to stop Nexus. To lose my people was difficult yes, but to lose the one I loved, to sacrificed my own child. No pain can describe the lose of a child. When I saw there was no hope I made a choice, the choice that will haunt me until the end of time. To let my son become the monster, to be erased little by little, or to spare his suffering and take his life myself." Q looked Teth over as the being showed some small light to his empty black eyes. "His smile, I will remember the most."

"So if a creature like my little Q puts everyone at risk then why save her?"

Teth looked back to Q, a more sincere smile crossing his face. "Because I have to believe there is another way. I won't make the same mistake again. I won't let Nexus claim the life of another innocent. The thing he wants most could be the thing that can destroy him." Teth seemed determined to succeed this time, to make little Q the instrument of Nexus's destruction. With her fathers agreement to help she could do that, he knew from sharing this form with her that she was everything his son had been and more. Reaching engineering Teth paused ignoring the stern glance of Torres as she worked to get the warp core operational again. Walking through the room he picked up tools and looked them over before setting them down. "This one might work." He passed it off the Q and walked over to Torres. "You, you are in charge of this section of the ship? Repairs, the little one remembers you as a fixer. Can you work with the teleporter? Would you know to set it up to specific calculations to separate two energy signals?"

"I ah." Torres paused and looked over to Q. "Yeah sure."

"Good, I'll write up the specifications I'll be needing on a PADD and hand it off to you, in the meantime I would like to borrow one of your tricorders. The medical ones won't work on this body." Teth turned back to Q, that look of worry still trapped on the mans face. "I will make sure this process has the least negative effects on your captain and child." Teth nodded and crossed it's hands behind his back.

For hours a small crew worked tirelessly in transporter room one trying to make the calibrations Teth had asked for. If done correctly they could pull the separate entities apart with little to no negative effects. He would be free to return to his battle with Nexus, hold him off long enough for the crew and ship to escape. Meanwhile the hope was that the young Q too would be separated and more than capable with reconnecting a link with it's physical body. He would try to instill some parting advice on the younger being, projecting itself though exciting and useful would prove to be reckless. He hoped that at least would prevent the younger being from getting into another situation like this. "How much longer is this going to take?" Q asked pacing back and forth wishing he could help. If he still had his powers he could have snapped his fingers and fixed this situation.

"A few more hours Q, be patient please." Teth spoke in that still tranquil tone he had put on to keep those around him calm.

"Won't we need Kathryn here when we separate the two of you?"

"Yes, but any physical beings will be warned to stand back. One or both of our energy signatures could become volatile during separation. They may experience some instability and fluctuations during separation as they try to reestablish themselves. I would even ask you to stand aside despite having been a creature of energy yourself. Golden light correct? That's what you look like. I can see it in the back of her mind, the gold light you become when you don't take human form. Ours was blue, like a net of stars that stretched across the expanse."

The way Teth spoke was almost a little sentimental, it made Q miss the Continuum. Perhaps it wasn't the most exciting place but it was still his home. "Maybe one day when this Nexus is gone you can come to the Q Continuum. You might not be a Q but you would be welcomed there."

Teth paused, his fingers moving away from the console he had been working on. "It's a kind offer, thank you."

Q glanced back at him. "That is unless you hurt my kid or Kathryn, then I might be forced to end your life shortly after."

Teth cracked a little smile hoping Q was only joking. The being had to hold more faith in him than that. "I shall keep that in mind and remember not to get this wrong."


	19. Nexus

The progress on the transporter was coming along perfectly, Teth observed over the progress as Q went off to check up on Kathryn. She hadn't been taking any of this very well and he wouldn't expect her to. She had every right to be upset about this situation. Hell, he was upset about the situation but Teth had given him hope and he wanted to pass that hope on to her. Walking into sickbay Q saw Kathryn laid out on a biobed, it sent a chill along his back seeing her there. He liked to think she wasn't in critical condition, in fact she wasn't but the baby was. The doctor feared any minute the rest of the body even with it's 'life support' would shut down. Kathryn's own body could only supplement so much for so long before major organs shut down. "I gave her a sedative to calm her down and help her sleep. I wanted to make sure I could keep the baby's functions monitored. So far they both seem relatively alright, if you can call being brain dead a relatively alright."

"Can you wake her up?" Q asked walking a little closer to the biobed. He kept his voice down in case she was still awake. If she needed rest, if she needed to sleep through the worst hours of this then he would let her.

"She's awake. You might be able to help her right now more than I can."

Q nodded and made his way to her side pulling over on chair from the corner so he could sit beside her. Brushing an auburn lock from her face he smiled down at her. "Hi." Q spoke softly as she opened her eyes up, he could tell she had been crying again, trying to deal with the possibility that they might never get a chance to hold their child, watch her grow up. If he could help it that outcome was never going to happen. "Teth is making progress, It won't be long before we can go down to transporter room one and get our daughter back." Reaching out he grabbed Kathryn's hand and held it tight in his own. "So Jean Luc is out of the question, been thinking of anything else?"

"No, I'm not certain I want to. If I give her a name it will be harder to lose her."

What grim words, Q couldn't let her think that way. "We won't lose her. We are going to get her back and she is going to want a name." At the very least, if she did die, if this was her last day then Q wanted her to die with a name. He didn't think she would, but he couldn't send a baby off in one of those small caskets just calling her Q or nameless Janeway. "Phoebe after your sister. Or Kathryn after you, we can call her Kat. Think of it then we will have a Kat and a dog." Leaning over he kissed her on the forehead catching the briefest smile light up her eyes for just a moment. "I know you can't hear me now Kat but you mean a great deal to me. If you could just be as stubborn as your mother then you will be hard to kill, don't let something so little as brain death stop you."

"Amelia." Kathryn finally spoke up. "Before when you suggested Quincy I thought of Amelia after Amelia Earhart. The first female pilot on earth. As a girl I always looked up to her and out here in the Delta Quadrant I had the chance to meet her. When I was young Amelia meant so much to me, I wanted to grow up to be just like her, a brave explorer going where no one had gone before. She vanished on earth long ago, assumed to be dead but when I found her here I knew she wasn't dead. Even now she has survived, a living legend. Maybe if, if we thought our daughter was gone she might be like Earhart. She might prove us all wrong."

"Amelia." Q mimicked with a little smile. "I really like that name, Amelia Q Janeway." He kissed her again. "She is going to prove us wrong and you know why? Because she Amelia Janeway, daughter of Captain Kathryn Janeway and Q. She's part Q, part human, the best qualities from both of us and none of our flaws. She's a fighter and she comes from hardy stock. We are both difficult to kill, I expect no less from her and in six months time we are going to welcome her to Voyager and teach her everything there is to know. She will be the brightest, bravest, best, Starfleet won't know what to do with itself when they face off with her."

"Q." The voice rang over sickbays com systems. "If you are still in sickbay please alert the EMH and the captain to come to transporter room one. We are ready to start the separation process." Teth's voice had a hint of excitement to it.

"Come on Kathy, time to get Amelia back." The doctor came to help the captain up. He would need to stay with them to help monitor her before and after the separation in hopes the baby's brainwaves came back. How this process would work was still unclear, he knew separation of the two entities would be a good start but how would the baby's consciousness get back? Luck, fate, nature?

It was a slow walk as Kathy showed obvious signs of her sedation, still dragging her feet while they moved towards the transporter room. Once inside Teth met them with a smile that was starting to look a little more like their Amelia's smile now. "You will need to erect a level ten forceful around the transporter until we are separated. Afterwards you may lower it and I'll help the child reintegrate with her physical form." Walking away from the pair Teth stood on top the platform and looked over at Torres with a nod of his head. While the engineer started the process the ship lurched and shuttered making Teth fall over from his spot. He lifted his head again, eyes wide with fear as he pressed his fingers against his com badge. "Bridge to transporter room one. He's back, we have to run. Go to warp nine." Q felt himself instantly grab Janeway's hand and hold it tight. as the ship shook again.

"An energy pulse shut down the warp core again." Paris's voice rang from the other side.

Teth got up walking forward and pausing a moment. "Start the process now, we need to hurry. He's come back for the baby. Without her neural network in place he will take over the body. I can't let this happen again." Torres went to work starting up the transporter beam again but another wave knocked out the power.

"I'm losing power to the controls."

"Reroute power from the shield to the transporter. I'll try to compensate myself so no one gets hurt." Another wave hit the ship again making it shake harder.

"I can't, he's knocking out all the systems."

Q looked over at Teth, the look on his face as if the whole world was falling down around him. As if he had seen this happen once before and he was reliving the moment. In his mind Teth was there again watching the sky turn black, the screams of his son in his mind. Black eyes narrowed as Teth turned his back to Q. "There is another way." He put his hands together. "Paris, I'm going to push the ship." He paused. "After I get us clear from here I'm going to let your daughter live. So long as we are together she will die, if one of us dies however the other is free. The remaining entity will absorb the extra energy patterns into their own and go on as they were before."

Q interrupted him. "But you'll, you'll be gone."

Teth gave a little smile. "If I have to die to right the wrongs of my past, to undo all my mistakes then it's the price I am willing to pay. For my son, for your daughter." He looked up. "It's your battle now Q. Don't make the same mistakes I did." He turned to face the Captain again. "Captain Janeway, remember the shadows." He turned back pressing his hands against the side of the room, the ship glowing as it had before, rather than the shield that had enveloped the ship before however the light powered down into the warp core pushing the ship forward at alarming rate. It moved through space like ice on glass for only a few seconds, a loud clap breaking it and slowing it to a near dead stop as Teth fell back from the wall and landed on his back. Gasping the body broke down into spirals of blue and gold light, fingers melting away into nothingness, flesh melting away from a smooth ivory skeletal structure. The glue wisps of light floated about like ash before turning a brilliant amber shade and flitting together like bugs drawn in by a light. As the body dissolved away the amber orb grew in size, no larger than perhaps a golf ball.

It circles the room at first seeming unintelligent before changing directions, looking for something. Pausing in it's path it spiraled down towards the group of humans gathered near the transporter control panel and flicked it's glow upon their faces. Almost with a playful nature it moved forward and back passing each person, first Torres without pause, passing the doctor with a small loop, almost a sign of confusion, then to Q with a long pause as if studying him. Once it noticed Janeway however it's behavior changed. It twinkled with a series of bright flashes that brought a smile to her face, almost as if the being of pure energy was trying to speak with her. It hovered just long enough to Janeway to reach out and nearly touch it, her hand moving through the light source but making it tingle. Shinning brighter it ran into her palm sending a glow along her arm. She jumped, more startled than hurt before looking back at Q. "Is she?"

The doctor pulled out his medical tricorder scanning over Janeway. "No radiation, no trace evidence of an energy signature..." He paused over her abdomen and let out a sign. "Well, I'm reading brain activity from the ba...Amelia." Janeway followed him with a sigh of her own. "Very healthy average brain activity you would expect actually."

"That's good new right?" Q asked.

"Yes and no, she use to have a lot more brain activity before, he had warned us this might leave her unable to project herself anymore or possible memory lose from before this moment."

"She won't remember us?" Kathryn seemed a little disappointed.

"She might not remember any moment from before now. It's difficult to say."

"I can live with that." Q answered. "She doesn't need to remember before, it's what she will remember later that's important. She won't really forget us Kathryn after all we are her parents. We will be spending our lifetime with her. She's going to figure out who we are quickly."

"Captain to the bridge, you might want to come take a look at this." Chakotay's voice rang over the com. Taking Q's hand in her own she smiled at him again, her blue eyes shifting up to his.

"Would you like to come with me Q?"

"Most certainly." Together they went up to the bridge looking up at the view screen at more unfamiliar stars.

"Captain, the energy we came across earlier is no longer in any of our scans. I think we got away." Chakotay smiled looking over at Captain Janeway, Q's arm wrapped around her. His eyes shifted nervously before looking away. Q acted like he never noticed but he could see the way Chakotay looked at her and it made him uncomfortable now more than ever. As a Q he had powers beyond human imagination. Now he was mortal and for the first time someone could actually be his competition. He didn't more or react to make it anymore known that Janeway was his because in reality she wasn't. He couldn't own her as a Q and he certainly couldn't own her now but he did care about her. "Is our youngest crew mate alright?" He asked. He was lucky the baby hadn't died or Chakotay might have been the one going out an airlock. Then again if she had Janeway wouldn't have come to the bridge.

Janeway rested a hand over her belly with a little smile. "She's not brain dead, that's the best we can hope for."

"What do you suggest we do now captain?"

Janeway smiled back at her crew on the bridge. "Set a course towards home."


	20. Hello Beautiful

"Kathryn, Kathryn." Q was fighting a little through the group of people walking along the market. It was another one of those dull days where they came down to a 'civilized' planet to gather up supplies as they journeyed into the unknown. He had been off with Kes gathering up various herbs they could use to derive medicinal properties from. He pushed past a few more people shielding some sort of lily he had gotten from the stand across from them. It had been a lovely quaint little flower shop and the lily reminded him a little of the captain. Beautiful and sturdy, it had a lovely scent to it and yet it, like a rose had thorns. Of course the thorns had been painstakingly removed so it wouldn't cut her hand when he gave it to her. Despite the protest of his cut up fingers, Q had to think about Janeway and the baby first. Catching a glimpse of Torres he figured his Captain would be close by. Ah, there she was, she stood off to the side with her arms crossed as Torres negotiated with the trader for the parts she was going to be needing. The captain was starting to sport a nice red jacket now that went down a little past her hips in an attempt to hid her pregnancy better. She didn't like being bothered about it down on other planets, as the captain unless they happened to be on shore leave she had to be taken seriously. Not questioned about when she was due. Five months had gone by in the blink of an eye and Q knew the last four would go by even faster. Staying back in the crowd he waited until Torres and the captain were done with the negotiation and started walking away from the stall.

Quietly he walked up behind them hardly listening to their conversation as Torres mentioned she had really needed those parts. Rather than make the fatal mistake of creeping up behind the captain and likely getting his throat crushed he sidled up to her side and put the flower close to her face. "For you my dear." Janeway jumped swatting it away a moment before she realized Q was the one who had put the flower near her. This was why he had been certain the lily was sturdy breed, a normal flower would have fallen apart from that backhand of hers but this lily retained it's perfect form and beauty. With the captain now certain she wasn't under attack by some stalker she looked back to Q and took the flower from his hand with a little smile.

"It's lovely Q, thank you." She thanked him and sniffed it.

"You are very welcome, it caught my eye and I couldn't help but think of you." Torres rolled her eyes and let out a little grunt in disgust. She still didn't trust Q as far as she could throw him and honestly she could probably throw him fairly far. "Sorry Torres, they didn't have a carnivorous plant for you." Q snapped back and watched the chief engineer walk away.

"Q." Kathy scolded.

"What? She started it. Did you see that look she gave me? I must say Captain your crew isn't the friendliest bunch. I try my best to fit in but it seems Kes is the only one who has given me a chance aside from yourself."

Janeway laughed a little, Q wasn't an easy pill to swallow. "You are an acquired taste Q, give them a chance to get use to you."

"Even the doctor hates me."

She laughed again, he was being a little dramatic. "He doesn't hate you, he just doesn't like when you challenge his intelligence and abilities."

"It was a reasonable concern. He's only delivered what? One baby? I simply suggested someone a little more experienced in the matter be there when Amelia is born. Just in case." Grabbing his hand she turned to kiss him on the cheek only to have him turn his head and hitting their faces against each other. Janeway instantly grabbed her nose after the little collision making Q panic. "Oh god Kathy, are you alright? Let me see." He pulled her hand away from her nose and lifted her chin a little so he could make sure it wasn't bleeding. One of the problems with being a good deal taller than your mate. You had to coordinate these sort of things so you didn't break to nose of the soon to be mother of your child. "I'm so sorry." She may have been a big scary Starfleet Captain but she was still a petite little human to him. Granted a sturdy one, he had seen her bounce off walls and hit by beams of energy and debris without even the slightest show of pain on her face. Knock her down and she got right back up.

"I'm fine." Despite her nose hurting Kathryn threw on a smile knowing he would insist she go to sickbay if she so much as grabbed her nose again.

"Good." He rubbed her belly leaning closer to her now. "Hear that Amy, no need to throw up your little shields or zap me into oblivion or whatever today's punishment is for an attack on mommy." Even though the baby was incapable of projecting herself like she use to it seemed Teth had showed her a few good tricks before sacrificing himself. Mainly the ability to put up her own privacy bubble when she felt like trouble was coming. At times that trouble was just someone running up to Janeway and putting a hand on her shoulder to get her attention only to get a good zap up the arm that made them jump a foot off the ground. Jumpy little kid, likely all that coffee her mother drank. Q argued that the baby was going to come out drinking coffee to which Kathryn said if she stopped drinking coffee then everyone was going to suffer. "And you complain about me being protective." He sassed at Kathryn.

"Well where do you think she gets it from?" Q was so caught up in her smile, her eyes, her overall radiance that he hadn't thought twice about the two men following them through the market. "Tomorrow before we leave orbit we should bring Rowley down here." She suggested. It would be good for the dog to get off the ship, after all he wasn't much of a pup anymore. Stretching his legs on a planet might be best for him.

"I'll walk him if we do, last time we took him off the ship he nearly took you off your feet. That animal got bigger than I expected." Q smirked and looked back at her. "Besides the only one allowed to take you off your feet is me." Q wrapped an arm around her and lifted her off the ground finding this was so much easier since he started working out with Tom and Kim on the holodeck. Before mortality Q could have lifted a starship, with his mind. After becoming human it had been exasperating to lift a human woman with two arms. Try being romantic and carry your girlfriend into the bedroom with shaky arms and legs and then insist it wasn't because she was too heavy but because you were too weak. Especially when he dropped her and turned as red as her uniform. Once Q set her back down the 'wolves' came out to play. Behind him the two men who had been following signaled to another three men stationed around various stands. As on of the stalkers grabbed hold of Q's shoulder the other three moved out closing in on them in a small circle.

"Hand over your credits and any other valuables you have." The man who had grabbed Q's shoulder spoke up. The crested ridges over his eyes giving him away as a local to the planet. His eyes shifted over to Janeway as the man pulled out a weapon, far more primitive than the phasers carried by the crew of Voyager but an energy weapon all the same. "You too miss."

Stepping in front of the man Q raised a brow for a moment forgetting he was mortal. "Excuse me? Should I assume you just threatened Captain Janeway?"

The thug smiled hearing Q's words. "I don;t know, should I assume a captains life is worth more than either one of you might be carrying? One hundred credits, a thousand credits? How important is this captain to your people?"

Q puffed up his chest and clenched his jaw. "Too me? Important enough to kill for." He wanted to snap his fingers and make the man bleed from every orifice of his body. See how threatening he was when he laid down bleeding until his heart had nothing to pump to his brain and he just shut down all together. Q had a million ways he could make the man suffer but without his powers there was only one. The thug raised his weapon ready to fire on him but Q caught his hand and pulled it up, surprising even himself at how quickly he had moved the weapon out of range of his own face. It fired off once into the sky sending people in the market scattering while Janeway pulled her own phaser. One of his friends fired at Janeway only to find all to well that little Amy was one impressive personal shield. The beam was almost instantly absorbed before reaching Janeway giving her time to fire back at him getting him right in the chest. The others seemed to back off from her knowing now she wasn't going to be so easy to deal with.

Q on the other hand felt the thugs head ram into his, the thugs species possessing a thicker skull heard a loud crack between his ears as he stumbled back dazed. The weapon aimed at Q for a split second before he realized what would really punish Q. Turning it on Janeway Q blinked through a river of blood running down his forehead and moved in front of the weapon just as it went off. Hit down by his spleen he fell back against Kathryn forcing the captain to partially catch him and turn to fire back at the attacker. Struck on the shoulder he fell back onto the ground out cold while Janeway crouched down beside Q. "Q can you hear me?" She lifted up his shoulders trying to rest him half way in her lap. His face was covered in blood now, his eyes shifting about almost against his control. His hand clutching tight to the wound on his side where he had been shot.

"Kathy, would you think." His face contorted in what looked like pain. "any less of me if I passed out in your arms? Getting, getting shot really hurts." His body started shaking while his hand fell at his side.

Pressing down on her com badge she kept herself calm, there wasn't time to panic. "Janeway to Voyager, two to beam up to sickbay, Q is critical." The light engulfed them turning into a spark of white while they were transported up. One second they were on the street in the center of the market and the next they were on the ground of the sickbay.

Quickly the doctor and Kes helped her move him onto the biobed as the doctor scanned him with the medical tricorder. "He has massive amounts of brain damage, his skull is fractured in at least seven places and there is heavy bleeding in the frontal lobe. I'm going to have to perform surgery." He turned to Kes. "Please stop the bleeding to his side I will address that once I have repaired his brain." Turning to Kathryn he pushed her back so the area was clear for surgery. "Please stand back Captain, he's in good hands. I promise you." Together Kes and the doctor moved around the bed to stabilize Q, his body going into a spasm as the doctor informed Kes to inject him with one of the hyposprays.

It had taken nearly an hour to stop the bleeding in his brain, repair the damaged tissue, and grow the bones of his skull back together so portions of the plate hadn't slid around and caused more damage later. Kathryn sat at his side waiting for him to wake up, holding his hand and he slept. Once he finally started waking she felt urge to throw her arms around him but refrained, even if he was better she didn't need to startle him. Opening his eyes Q looked over at her, a little smile tugging at his lips. "Hello beautiful." He managed to mutter the words before rubbing his forehead.

Janeway smiled back at him finally wrapping her arms around him. "Q, I was so worried."

Rather than embrace her in a hug of his own Q pulled back looking a little startled. His eyes shifting over her again as he raised a brow. "Excuse me but, do I know you?"


	21. Forget Me Not

"I'm sorry but am I suppose to know who you are?" Q walked around the side of the bed as Kathryn got up.

"Computer, activate the emergency medical hologram."

Within seconds the doctor came into view standing at the center of the room. "Please state the medical emergency." Turning to look at the captain he saw that look of concern on her face. Another small turn and he spotted Q standing at the side of the bed looking around the room. "Oh I see our patient is doing better."

"If you can say that." She walked closer to the doctor. "He doesn't know who I am."

"What?" The doctor paused walking over to his medical tricorder. "That can't be right. Everything went smoothly, he shouldn't have memory lose." Scanning over Q the ex omnipotent being turned around and slapped the tricorder away from him.

"Do you mind? That's a bit rude, besides it will do you no good. I'm immortal, omnipotent, a super being, your scans won't recognize me."

The doctor glanced over the readings. "Oh just perfect, this means I'm short staffed in sickbay again. What's worse is his egomania has returned." Setting the tricorder aside he glared back at Q. "Tell me, what is the last thing you remember Q?"

Q turned on his heels thinking that was a strange question. "I was in the continuum, they asked me to come down here and deal with some humans. A ship called Voyager and her plucky little crew released one of my kind from his prison. I am suppose to get him back." He paused looking over Kathryn and then at the room again. "This is a sickbay on a starfleet ship isn't it, and you are a starfleet officer? Ah, so you must be Voyager and it's plucky crew."

"Yes, you are looking for Quinn, he's already dead. He committed suicide." She crossed her arms over her chest hoping she could catch him up to speed a little.

"What?" Q looked back at her. "Well, this is going to be a problem." Snapping his fingers he looked shocked to still be trapped on the ship. Q snapped his fingers again with the same result, nothing happened. Out of frustration he continued snapping and snapping until he was going wild with both hands snapping over and over again. "It appears my snap is broken."

"Because you are mortal Q." Janeway let out a sigh. "How long is he going to be like this? Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't know, this shouldn't have happened. I did everything perfectly. He should not have memory lose." The doctor walked back to the bed Q had been resting in followed by Janeway and not far behind an ease dropping Q. "But if even in human form his brain is not exactly like a humans, as he said he still retained all his knowledge as a Q when he became mortal. We can assume he will get his memory back...I think, just give it a few days. If it's anything like humans then helping him remember, familiar settings, people, he should start having memories connected to those people and places return."

"You THINK?" She asked, her voice sounding more stern this time.

"How should I know? I have never operated on a Q before, especially a mortal one."

"OPERATED?" Q screamed stepping back. "What have you done to me?"

Janeway stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Nothing Q, you were injured on the planet bellow. We were attacked and you tried fighting one of the locals. He crushed your skull and caused serious damage, you could have died."

"Mortal? Well that would explain the..." He snapped his fingers again and looked around, still nothing. "But why am I mortal? And why am I on your ship?" He paused gasping. "Is it because Q killed himself? Am I being punished for that?"

Janeway took in a deep breath. "It's a long story, believe me."

"Well I don't, let me speak to your captain."

"I am the captain." She replied as Q broke down into laughter.

He continued to snicker grabbing his knees and bending over, slapping his leg and grabbing his stomach to make more of a point to how hilarious he thought this situation was. "No really, I would like to speak with your captain."

Janeway moved her hands on her hips and gave him her winning death glare which silence Q instantly. He didn't need to remember to to know when she gave the look you shut your mouth. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation ship Voyager. You are mortal and one of my science officers, Ensign Q." She paused holding that air of command about her which seemed to keep him completely focused on her. He had a funny look in his eye, something between amazed and frightened and it honestly made her a little uncomfortable.

"Such command Captain Janeway, and can you please explain to me why I am currently an ensign on your crew? The lovely S.S. Doomed in Space?"

She looked away remembering how much she had disliked Q when she first met him. It was hard to remind herself that he was charming when he wanted to be and she had developed some rather sincere feelings for him in the six months they had spent on Voyager. Especially these last five months, she had even come to rely on him and trust him. "I was getting to that before I was interrupted."

"Rawr." Q quipped making her shoot another death glare. "Continue."

"You went against the Continuum and helped Quinn, the Q who had escaped kill himself after he became mortal. There was a civil war in the continuum, one your side was losing. You wanted change, the right for individuality. You thought the only solution to end the war peacefully was to introduce human qualities into the Q Continuum. You, approached me to have a child with you..."

"Why you? Of all the beings in this universe I came to you?" He cut her off and walked over. "No offense Captain, Kathryn, Janeway?" He took her hand in his pausing again. "Oh my what soft hands you have, you really need to..." She gave him that death glare again feeling like they had already done this song and dance before only this time she didn't snatch her hand back.

"Funny, I asked you the same thing. I even beat out a one celled organism but for whatever reason you felt I was your perfect choice. Perhaps it was my involvement with Quinn's death. I did give him sanctuary on Voyager so he wouldn't be imprisoned again."

He cut her off and let her hand go. "Well I can understand that but I'm not really into fat girls..." He glanced down at her stomach and paused again, he was but a second away from having his skull broken again. "Oh..." He paused looking back at her ready to catch her hand if she dared to strike him. "Oh." He raised a brow and let a sly little smile slip across his face. "Looks like you didn't refuse my offer, but what isn't adding up to me is I'm not the family type. Why would I give up my own freedom to be tied down by some nagging woman and her drooling baby? I would just ask someone else to do the honors. I wouldn't be caught dead with a scrawny little human woman for anything more than a few laughs."

Janeway clenched her jaw and balled her hands up into fists, slowly making her way back to the chair beside the bed he had been resting in. Lowering herself slowly into the chair she had to remind herself Q had lost all his memory's, he was reset back to the factory model, the one she wanted to strangle and with her mood swings she would be capable of doing just that. Grabbing her forehead she looked down at the ground shielding him from her sight just for a moment so she could take a breath. "Captain are you alright?" The doctor walked over attempting to scan her with the medical tricorder. "Might I suggest you go lay down in your quarters? I can take care of Q until he's feeling...better." he glared back at Q hoping the asshole didn't go making Kathryn cry.

Letting out a heavy sigh Kathryn lost all desire to explain anything to him right now. "I'm fine."

Ordinarily he wouldn't feel to bad hurting a humans feelings but for some reason it tugged at his mortal heart to see the woman upset. Some natural reflex he had acquired in his time being human acting up. "To clarify then, the little tyke is mine? So what does that make us? Mates? Friends with benefits? Did we share a bed?" He raised a brow creeping up a little closer to her and then backing off when she looked up at him.

Pressing on her com badge she spoke up making her voice sound cold and authoritative. "Tuvock, could you please get a room ready to accommodate Ensign Q. I'll explain later at tomorrows morning meeting." Standing up from her chair she put on her captain face and addressed the doctor. "I'm putting you in charge of him until we can figure out to do with Q. His position in this crew has been revoked, he won't be able to help you in sickbay anymore and he is no longer allowed on my bridge nor in my quarters." Q walked up a little closer as she held up a finger to silence him. "He will remain in his quarters or here with you, he is not allowed to wander my ship without an escort. If he decides he would like to remain on Voyager he is free to do so, if not we can drop him off at the next populated planet."

"Kathy, don't I get a say in..."

She turned her attention back to him, her expression stern with just the slightest show of pain in her dark blue eyes. "You will address me as Captain while you are on my ship. If you chose to remain here I can reconsider reinstating your position as a member of the science department and you can continue to help the doctor in sickbay but I want you out of my way until then. I have a crew to get home, I don't have time for games."

"And if he regains his memories?" The doctor called over to her as she walked towards the door of sickbay.

"We will cross that bridge when we get to it." She turned to look over her shoulder and walked out.

Once the door closed behind her the doctor turned to Q and slapped him hard against the back of his head. "What was that for?" Q cried out and rubbed his scalp still feeling the sting.

"You really messed up this time Q, and I was just starting to like you."

"What?" He asked still rubbing his head.

"What? WHAT? You could have been a little more sensitive. I don't know why or how but you managed to charm the Captain. She trusted you, she might have even loved you and you go off treating her that way. Amnesia or not she didn't deserve to have you talk to her like that, now you have blown it. Even if you do regain your memories she might never take you back." The doctor growled and walked past the slightly stunned Q.

"Loved?" Q asked a little curious to what he had been up to all this time and how he had become mortal. It seemed his mortality hadn't come from his failure to bring back Q or Quinn. Whatever they called him. He did however know that his powers and immortality could be revoked should he ever fall for a mortal. "How close was I with the captain?"

The doctor didn't even bother to look at Q, "Very." He picked up his tools and tried to spiff the place up a little. "You followed her around like a lost puppy, in fact I can't think of a time other than when you had to be in here doing your job that you weren't by her side."

"Would you say my attachment to her was a show of love maybe?"

"Love? Well, I guess you could say it seemed that way, then again with you Ensign Q, nothing is what it seems. Sort of like this right now. How do I know your amnesia is real and that you are not just using this opportunity to escape your duties? Getting cold feet Q? Trying to run off on the captain and your child?"

Q furrowed his brow as he bit down on his finger. "I want to believe I could have seen her as little more than a short term pet but I just don't see it." It made him wonder if this getting hit on the head thing that happened had changed his personality, his tastes. What was he missing? Or perhaps he had been missing nothing, maybe as the doctor has said, he had just been playing then all fools but why wait so long? Was he getting something useful out of this crew? Was he getting something out of being mortal? It was unlikely.

"Well, maybe that was all she ever was to you then Q. If that's the case it might be better you left the ship because the captain didn't feel that way about you. It would be better for Amelia as well, less stress would do them both good."

"Amelia?" Q felt like the name was familiar, Amelia Earhart, a human pilot, how charming.

"Yes, that is the name the two of you agreed upon for your daughter."

"A girl? Now I'm really baffled by this situation. I wouldn't have a daughter in a million years, I would much prefer a strapping dashing young lad just like me." Q nodded his head having an odd stray thought pop up. But then again a little girl as pretty as her mother, someone with that smile that could light up a room, those big bright eyes that made your immortal heart skip a beat, her compassion and ability to love so selflessly, to protect others when they needed a hero most. He could see how a daughter would be somewhat appealing. Q furrowed his brow again. "Strange."

That night Q was escorted to his own quarters, it felt funny laying down in a bed, needing to sleep when the last thing he could recall was being omnipotent. Sleep wasn't something his body ever required. He spent every hour of his every day watching and wandering. The universe at his fingertips. It took a while for him to fall asleep, tossing and turned in his bed until the dreams came, the nightmares. There he stood in a vast desert, the hot air breathing down the back of his neck. As he wandered shielding his eyes from the bright light he came to realize he wasn't just wandering aimlessly, he was looking form something or someone. Opening his mouth Q went to shout a name but paused realizing he had forgotten the name he was calling for. He had to do something, something very important, it was urgent. Frantically he picked up his pace fighting against the wind as it grew in strength, the dust blown up around him until he realized he was in a sandstorm.

The wind screamed in his ears, his white shirt and pants clinging desperately to his limbs as he grasped for that name in his mind. "Hey." Was all he could say over the strong gusts. Sand clogging his mouth the moment he uttered those words and caused him to choke. "Where are you?" Q cried out over the loud roar, sand blinding him, forcing him to close his eyes and walk blindly."

"I'm here." A voice called back. Holding his hand over his eyes he opened them, desperately looking for the person who had spoken.

"Hold on, I'm coming, don't move." Q yelled back closing his eyes again.

"Hurry." The voice seemed a little frightened now, the wind cutting the words apart as they reached his ears. Opening his eyes again he could feel tears streaming down his face at the sting of the sand. A distant giggle catching his attention and helping to guide him as he pushed on fighting against the storm. Q narrowed his eyes raising his hand up again, more laughter helping to guide him. "Hurry daddy." The voice called out again. "I'm waiting."

"I know, I know I'm coming for you just stay right there. Don't move." His pace quickened, the wind growing stronger and nearly pulling him off his feet as he tried to run against it.

"I'm afraid of the dark daddy." The voice was almost taunting him now, never growing closer, only seeming to get further away.

"It's okay, don't be afraid I'm coming to get you." He moved faster against the wind wondering if he was moving at all. Was he running in place? Was the wind keeping him from ever reaching her? No, that wasn't going to happen. He had to get there in time, he had to before, before something. Q use to know what it was but now he couldn't remember. He had promised, he couldn't forget his promise. Fighting harder he clenched his teeth together and continued to run until the wind had vanished. It hadn't died down or changed directions, it just vanished as if it had never been there. He was so distracted by running towards the laughter he hadn't noticed the cliff in front of him, the large drop into what looked like a bottomless canyon. Catching himself at the last second he slid to a stop feeling his toes go over the edge, panic filling his mind. Looking down into the emptiness, the darkness bellow he backed up gasping for breath.

"Daddy." The voice spoke up again sounding closer than before. Looking up he peered across the gap, too large to be jumped. On the other side stood a girl, she looked familiar, a white dress clinging to her frail little frame, a white ribbon tying her dark locks back into a little ponytail. She looked like she had been crying, tears staining her sweet angelic face, her green eyes fixed on him with a seriousness too mature for a child, a fear too deep for her young form. She held a little white stuffed rabbit in her arms pressed tight against her chest. Her own toes rested to the edge of the cliff on her side.

"Hold on, stay put, I'm coming for you just don't move." Q yelled at her before he spun around trying to find something he could use to cross the gap.

"I'm afraid." She cried out to him again. "I'm afraid daddy."

Q looked back at her, her face turning red as she let more tears roll down her face. "I know, I'm afraid too." He paused taking in another breath, fighting off the panic rising in his chest. "But that's okay, it's okay to be afraid. Back away from the edge a little. I'm going to find a way to the other side. I'm coming to get you."

She shook her head, a grim sort of realization coming to her. "No daddy you can't. You can't come get me because it's too late." Her eyes shifted to the darkness bellow. "He's already here." Q gasped wondering what she meant by that. Even as she took a step back he could see the ground beneath her start to crumble.

His heart nearly jumped up into his throat, his eyes wide with fear as he glanced at the ground beneath her and then back up to the near solemn look on her face. "Run, Emily...Annie, whatever...run, RUN." She didn't seem to hear him or maybe she had but was too afraid to listen. Instead Q watched in horror as the ground fell away beneath her. "Amy, Amy, no." The name rolled off his tongue, some distant memory clawing back into his mind. His words couldn't stop her fall as she sank bellow catching a branch beneath her. The small white rabbit falling from her grip and spiraling into the darkness bellow. Q stepped forward wanting to jump to the other side but knowing he wouldn't make it. "Amy hold on don't let go." Running his hands to the side of his head he paced back and forth trying to figure out what to do. He stopped a moment snapping his fingers, if he had his powers he could just snap her into his arms and she would be safe but all the snapping couldn't fix this. It wasn't working.

The branch broke letting her slip a little more, her feet kicking at the side of the cliff as she tried to pull herself up more. "No, Amelia don't move you'll only make it worse."

"Daddy please."

His heart sank hearing her say that, the look on her face, as if she knew he couldn't do anything. "No hold on I think I can..." He paused looking back at her. "I..." Q dropped to his knees feeling defeated. "I can't, I can't remember." The little girl closed her eyes and let her grip loosen on the branch, her fingers slipping free as she started to fall away into the black. Q couldn't cry out, he couldn't speak, he couldn't reach out for her, all he could do was curl up on the ground, a silent scream escaping him as he drug his fingers through the sand. What had he done wrong? Why was he being punished? He rocked back and forth feeling like he couldn't move at first until all his pain, all his fear became empty and the wind picked up, the world around him turning dark. He looked up raising his head, cliff gone, the desert a flat land with a dark pit above it spiraling in a clockwise rotation, seeming to suck all light into it's center.

"Do you remember me now?" The voice was similar to the little girls voice but there was a second voice behind it, a dark deep voice, an inhuman voice.

"No." Q answered feeling his arms shake as he tried to hold himself up.

"You will." The voice laughed back at him.

Q sat up in his bed looking around at the room. He was still on Voyager, in his room. Taking a deep breath he was able to stop his heart from racing, calm himself down. It had only been a dream, a very very bad dream but nothing more than that. Dream or not Q couldn't shake the bad feeling it had given him. As if he was suppose to remember something important, something to do with the darkness, with Amelia? Taking another deep breath he laid back down pulling the covers up close to his chin. Remember something.


	22. Chuckles Meet Fist

"I haven't been sleeping very well the past few days." Q complained rubbing his head as he sat on the bed in sickbay, the doctor scanning him.

"Have you started remembering anything? Anything at all?" The doctor asked, his eyes fixed on the tricorder.

"I don't know." He furrowed his brow. "Flashes maybe? Images here and there. Strange dreams with faces I recognize but I don't know who they are until I meet them in the hall and they say hello. Something about some...thing." He pinched the bridge of his nose again feeling like he was going to get another headache.

"Well something is better than nothing."

Q glared back at the doctor. "Is that your medical opinion?" He growled. "I feel like I'm sick but no one knows what I have so it can't be cured."

"Maybe you should go back to your quarters and rest, I'll have Kes bring you something to eat, maybe bring by a few objects that might help jump start your memory."

"Captain Janeway?" Q asked a little hopeful, he hadn't really seen her since the first day of this whole situation. Now that he had been given time to sit down alone and think he realized she occupied a good chunk of his thoughts, her and that...Amelia was it? In fact, a good portion of his dreams revolved around Amelia, some revolved around Janeway too. Dreams he wasn't going to tell the doctor about, they were fairly personal Janeway dreams.

"Excuse me?" The doctor looked back at him.

"Is she coming by? To help jump start my memory I mean. If we were as close as you and Kes tell me she was then shouldn't she help me?"

"I thought I made it very clear, I don't think you will be seeing much of the captain for a good long while. In fact in the morning meetings she has made it very clear she wants you to keep a good healthy distance from her. I would advise you to avoid her, even if she might help you with your memory issues I'm afraid that is a resource you have already exhausted."

"For how long? days, weeks, months, after the baby is born? Will she throw me off the ship, out an airlock?"

"Does it matter?" The doctor asked.

"Yes." Q crossed his arms.

"Do I detect a hint of pinning in your voice?"

Q sat back on the bed a little more. "Maybe, I don't know."

"These feelings might be some form of your memory returning, of course if you wanted to get chummy with her again you might have not called her fat or a scrawny human."

Q huffed, maybe, maybe not, it didn't matter did it? Did it? He had to ask himself that. A few days ago he thought of the captain as some sad sorry little mortal, certainly she looked rather stunning when she was angry with him but he hadn't thought of her possibly being anything other than a short term play thing. Now he wasn't so sure, did distance make the heart grow fonder? "She loathed me once before didn't she? I could convince her to like me again can't I?"

"Yes but before you only gave her reason to distrust you, now you have given her reason to hate you with every fiber of her being. You insulted her."

"Mildly insulted her." Q interrupted him.

"The point is humans are fragile creatures emotionally. Before she didn't know you and she didn't care to get to know you. Since then she has fallen for you, respected you, trusted you, loved you, and you turned around knowingly or not and broke her heart. PLUS might I add that she only agreed to have that baby with you if you promised to help look after it and act like a real parent."

"PROMISE, I remember, yes I remember I made a promise to someone." Q cried out jumping off the bed and feeling a little excited. He was going to continue on, maybe even throw a kiss on the doctor when he heard a barking sound from out in the hall. "Barking? A dog? What is a dog doing on the ship? Rowley." Q paused surprised he could remember that. "I remember Rowley, Rowley is the dog I made, for Janeway. I gave Janeway a dog?" The doctor shrugged. "Why on earth would I give her a filthy mongrel?"

"Well she does have an affinity for..." The doctor was interrupted as Q ran for the sickbay door and left him alone. "Or you could just leave and forget to turn me off." The doctor sighed. "Computer, end the EMH program please."

Q walked out into the hallway seeing the large Irish Setter walking with one of the ensigns, clearly the dog was not too keen on being with the 'stranger' and the second he caught sight of Q he ran away from the other crew member and dashed towards Q. It was a Hallmark moment as Q squatted down and opened his arms up to the happy mutt. Rather than hug him Rowley fell over into his lap and rolled onto his back wagging his tail so hard it slapped against Q's side. He remembered the dog, the name, where he came from and why but he hadn't remembered how Rowley behaved. Scratching the dogs belly Q broke into the baby talk he use to use on Rowley. "How is my baby boy Rowley, did you miss daddy? Did you miss your papa?" Q placed kisses on the end of the dogs snout and looked back over at the ensign who was walking their way to reclaim the dog. "Oh no he isn't Rowley, you are going to help me do something. Come here, listen to daddy not that bad person. Bad person Rowley listen to daddy and I'll give you your squishy." Rowley jumped up getting to his feet and wagging his tail faster at the word squishy. His favorite toy reserved only for his best behavior. Q had used it to train him, it was amazing how much he remembered about the dog and yet so little about his relationship with Janeway. He was going to fix that, if Rowley could remind him of his life before then Janeway might bring up something else.

Rowley went trotting onto the bridge with a sign around his neck and a rose clenched in his teeth. As the dog walked in Tuvock raised his brow and tilted his head not certain he could consider the dog to be trespassing or a threat for that matter. A dog would also not know it was doing something wrong by entering the bridge without permission. Rather than stop the animal he watched it somewhat curious as to what it was doing. While Kathryn was busy talking to Chakotay Rowley walked over and pressed his wet nose into her arm before taking a seat. Janeway turned from Chakotay and spotted the dog wondering why he was on the bridge. "Ensign Cori I thought I said..." Janeway looked around not seeing the Ensign anywhere. Reaching over to Rowley the dog dropped the rose at her feet. "Why is the dog on the bridge? Who let him in? No animals are allowed on my bridge." Even her own dog, he might have been the captains dog but that didn't get him special privilege. Janeway pulled the note off his collar looking over the rather feminine and floral lettering on the page writing out the word 'Sorry'. She cocked a brow and stood up about to speak up to Tuvock when the door opened again and in walked Q. "I should have known."

"Kathy the most wonderful news...Captain, I meant Captain, I am starting to remember, just a little. I heard the dog barking and I remembered Rowley. Irish Setter, I gave him to you five, no six, six and a half months ago because you like dogs, particularly this breed I think. Did you have a dog like this on earth?" He paused trying to think about it. "Yes, you did, Molly, spunky puppy, she was having a litter or was going to before you left. I think. Am I right? please tell me what is a hit or a miss." For a second a flash of hope crossed her face, a little smile tugging on her lips before it faded. Crossing her arms she turned away from him. "I remembered a few other things, you like roses right or was it lilies? Orchids? Something like that, it was an earth flower." Well that was obvious. "BUT looking through my old replicator records it seemed I replicated roses the most so I'm just going to assume that was it."

"And do you remember what you said to me?" She snapped back, what a temper on her, he was starting to see why he liked her so much. She was awful beautiful when she got angry, that might account for why he could be so crude towards her. Getting a little rise out of her, practically a second hobby.

"Which time? I'm not recalling much more beyond what I just mentioned."

"A few days ago, I remember, something about 'I wouldn't be caught dead with a scrawny little human woman for anything more than a few laughs.' Do you recall?"

"Oh yes, that." He smiled and put his arms up. "All water under the bridge." The way he went about it so casually was what bothered her more than his sad attempt to apologize. Did he even know what he had done wrong, did he care, or was this just about him trying to feel good again? Q did think mostly of himself and no one else. His half hearted apology was not enough, even if he hadn't remembered her he couldn't treat her like that and think saying sorry would fix everything.

"That's not good enough Q." She started walking away heading to her ready room, considering even to have Q removed from the bridge. She shouldn't have to be forced off her bridge by his adolescent behavior. He should be the one leaving.

Q tried to follow her, "Should I crawl on my knees, on my belly? What am I saying, I can't possibly be this desperate or this.." He turned to look at Rowley with a sort of sympathy. He could understand the frustration of begin a dog suddenly. "I don't know which one of us she has better trained, you or me. Did she neuter me too? It feels like it." Again, nothing more but his jokes.

"Get off my bridge." Kathryn order and turned back to face him, her hands on her hips. It was bad enough he had been cruel to her in sickbay, she wasn't going to let him humiliate her on her bridge in front of her crew.

"Captain, Kathryn please with all sincerity I am trying to say, I don't remember us, what we might of had but there are little things and I think I need you. I mean your help to remember. I'm coming to you as, as a man lost in a storm, yelling into the wind and trying to listen for that familiar voice that can...guide me home?"

Chakotay finally stood up and got between them, putting his hands up to keep Q from getting any closer. "I think it's time you go. I'll escort you back to your quarters."

Q backed up looking at Chakotay. He couldn't remember what he use to think about the man before or how their relationship might have been but he knew something now. He didn't like the man, he didn't like the look in his eye, how he was 'standing up' for Kathy. "What's the matter Chuckles, afraid she might slip through your fingers again?" Q didn't even realize he had said the words until they left his mouth and he didn't even know where they had come from. Somewhere deep deep down inside the back of his mind where the darkness and fog stole what might have been his most cherished memories for all he knew.

Chakotay grabbed hold of Q's arm, a more serious look on his face. "Captain? Your orders?"

Q rolled his eyes, "I guess I'm not that well trained after all, she certainly has a tighter leash on you. Stop trying to impress her."

"I'm not trying to impress the captain." Chakotay replied, his tone remaining rather calm but the grip on Q's arm getting tighter.

Pulling his arm free Q took another step back. "You keep telling yourself that but I see it all over your face Chuckles." Feelings and scattered memories were flashing and vanishing in his head making it all rather confusing and constraining inside his mind. Emotions and thoughts from before today, his jealousy showing itself, he didn't like this man, he knew that much, he didn't like how he looked at Kathryn, he never had, that he could remember. HE was a problem, he was a threat, he was competition. "What? Do you think you are the better man? Better for Kathryn, better to play father figure? Do you honestly thing you could fill my shoes."

Chakotay remained calm. "I don't have to." Though Chakotay had meant that in the best way possible to Q it sounded more like a challenge.

Swinging forward Q was unable to stop his own fist as it made contact with the side of Chakotays face. In his mind he pictured the man to fall hard against the ground and to Q stand victorious over him. Instead his hand struck Chakotays face and instantly he pulled it back shacking it and letting out a cry in pain. "You broke my hand on your face." Q cried as Tuvock and Chakotay moved forward to restrain him, the other male not too phased by Q's 'attack'. Rowley got up quickly, his hair standing on end as he growled, ready to protect Q from being restrained. He was moving quickly to go for Tuvock but Q knew when he had to accept the punishment for his actions. It wouldn't be the first time, the continuum liked to punish him it seemed and right now he deserved it. "Rowley, stand down." He ordered the dog making him sit back and whimper, his eyes fixed on his master. Chakotay and Tuvock grabbed hold of Q and waited for the captains orders. Q not bothering to fight against them. "I'm sorry." Q's eyes shifted up at Kathryn.

"Put him in the brig, he's getting off my ship at the next populated planet."

So here he was, in prison, put there by his ex girlfriend. Q had laid down on the little junk screwed into the wall not moving to get up, not wanting to eat his meal, not wanting to talk or do anything but roll over to his side and pick at the wall. He had really done it, now she was going to toss him off the ship, probably start a 'relationship' with Chuckles, they were going to raise his baby, he was never going to meet Amelia. Q let out sigh which turned into a short lived sob. Wrapping his arms around himself he noticed something, he didn't have his powers because he had traded them in for love, now he didn't have love because he had traded it for what? Stupidity? What did he have now? Nothing? Quinn's idea of having lived too long was starting to seem more and more appealing. Why bother, he was mortal, he was going to die alone anyways. Q let out another heavy sign not realizing how pathetic he sounded right now and honestly he couldn't care. Maybe some part of him had hoped Kathy would see him trying to be manly, fight for her affection, he hadn't remembered enough of her personality to know punching that cheap ass in the face would lead to this. If he could have remembered he would have refrained, asked her politely if he could speak with her alone in the ready room. Q was still so lost in his own mind he didn't notice the people talking outside his cell.

"How is he?" Janeway asked one of the crew members on the security team.

"Hasn't moved since he was put in there, hasn't spoken, refuses to eat, whines."

Kathryn shook her head and looked over to the cell where Q was curled up on the cot. "Could you give us a moment alone." She smiled at the crew member, "Don't worry I'm not going to kill him." He nodded and took up his PADD before walking out the door behind her. Standing at the first cell Janeway shut the force field down catching one of Q's little whimpers as his finger picked at the wall. "Q." She called him but he didn't move, still curled up on the cot whimpering to himself like Rowely when he had to be let out. Grabbing his shoulder she shook him a little, not really caring if it made him jump. "Q." And jump he did.

Q nearly fell off the cot as he rolled over and swung his arms to fend off an 'attack'. "Come to finish me off, you might as well, it doesn't seem I have anything to live for." He finally noticed Kathryn and sat up a little more catching his breath and wanting to take back his words. "Ka...ptain."

"I was told you refuse to eat." He was surprised by the softness of her voice, that concerned hint to it, that look on her face. Maybe he didn't remember the little details or the big details but he remembered he loved her, he remembered he loved her enough that he was afraid to lose her.

"What's the point." Q replied losing the energy to stay upright and laid back down. "What's the point of eating, breathing, living?"

"This isn't like you." Memory lose or not, he wasn't this person, hitting Chakotay, acting as though he was defeated.

"No it's not like me but you try to go three days without much sleep, nightmares haunting you, feelings you feel are not yours but they are, trying to remember everything that mattered to you, panicked, afraid, like someone or something is hunting you, you have to warn someone about something but you can't remember what it was. I close my eyes and I see the most terrifying thing, emptiness, nothingness, a man alone in the vast nothing with no family. A hand slipping from my grip, eyes wide with terror, the darkness, the void, the black gazing at me, taunting me. You can't imagine what these past few days have been like. I lost myself and I can't get him back. Not that it matters, I'll be off the ship soon enough won't I? Let to my misery, going insane on some little rock." He furrowed his brows and closed his eyes only opening one when he felt her hand rest on his shoulder.

"Q." She still held that soft tone to her voice before clearing her throat and coming back with a more serious tone. "You attacked my commanding officer."

"I know."

"May I ask why?"

He sat up looking up at her and patting the cot beside him. "Have a seat, you don't need to be standing there for too long." She was reluctant at first but took up his offer feeling like she was talking to the Q she had come to know after their five months together. "Love makes you do funny things, I see how he looks at you, Chuckles, with my powers no one could ever match me but as a mortal...well, how could I beat Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome? He's strong, attractive, I think he might be funny, not as brilliant as I am but kind. If I was a woman I would be all over him. I said some things I shouldn't have, I did some things I should have, I regret them all and I am trying to remember something, anything that I might have said or done in the several months i have known you to make everything better but I have nothing."

"You're jealous?" She paused almost laughing but it made perfect sense. It never crossed her mind that Q with an ego larger than Voyager could get jealous. "Of Chakotay?"

Slowly Q looked over at her, his expression showed just how tired he was, his eyes looking a little puffy from, had he been crying? "Would you think any less of me if I said yes?"

"No."

"Then yes." Q leaned over resting his head on her shoulder as if he wasn't in trouble. He knew damn well he was but if this was the last time he got to see her then he would take every chance he got to be closer to her. "You are going to throw me off this ship Kathryn and I am going to call you Kathryn, please give a man that one dying wish. I made a promise to you, the doctor reminded it of it. I promised to be there for you and our child, to be a real parent, a real father to Amelia and I intend to keep my promise but if making me vanish makes you feel better than I will promise to stay away. Even if I ever did somehow manage to get taken back by the continuum I wouldn't come back."

She reluctantly wrapped an arm around him. "I'm not going to throw you off the ship." Q perked up a little. "But you attacked a commanding officer, their will be punishment for that. Besides you haven't been yourself, you forgot over a year and a half and I understand you are struggling to remember that lost time. That being said you said things that you must take responsibility for." She tried standing up but was stopped when Q grabbed her hand.

"I wouldn't be caught dead with a scrawny little human woman for anything more than a few laughs." Q paused. "That is true, I wouldn't, but you are not a scrawny little human woman Kathryn. You are a brave, powerful, frightening even, Starfleet captain. I didn't remember that at the time, I didn't remember who you were but I remember it better now. You are not just a human woman, you are my equal." Kathryn tried not to let him know that he had said the right words to make her feel like she might cry a little. Despite her attempt to hide it however Q had caught a glimpse of it making him smile just a little. "I'll clean the plasma injectors for the next 70 years." Janeway smiled and let out a partial laugh. "You like roses but they are not your favorite flower because they remind you of your fathers funeral. Red roses everywhere, I covered your bridge in roses and you got upset because all you could think of was that day, your favorite flowers are lilacs because you had three lilac bushes on your childhood farm." Q paused while Janeway looked at him a little surprised he knew that, more so because she had never actually told him her favorite flower. "I'm remembering things, small things but it's there, I read about the lilacs in your diary, the one on earth...when I still had my powers. The one in your dresser...sorry about that too. I put it back where I found it, I think you were fifteen when you wrote that entry. You use to keep a picture of your fiance Mark and your dog Molly, I think you were in it too, on your table in your room, it's not there anymore though, you took it down three months ago, why?"

"For the same reason you gave up your immortality." Q smiled at her lifting his head off her shoulder and resting his hands on either side of her face. Pulling her closer to him he kissed her hoping she would be alright with it. For a while she was, she relaxed in his arms before she was reminded he was still in trouble and she was still mad at him, less so than before. Pushing him back she moved away keeping some distance between them now. "I'm sorry, you still need time. I don't blame you for that." She wanted to get up and walk away now, go back and discuss what sort of punishment they should give him and what more they could do to help him through this difficult process. "Don't let me lose you again." He nodded his head and put on one of his cheeky grins. "By the way when I get out of here can I assume I get to move back in with yo..." She shot him one of those looks again. "You know maybe we need a little space, give it some time, I'll just keep my stuff there, maybe swing by every now and again..."

"If you behave, and don't attack any more of my crew then we can talk about this again. You are still restricted to your quarters and you can start helping the doctor in sickbay again. You will still be escorted around the ship and not allowed on the bridge, my ready room, morning meetings, or my quarters."

Q looked sad again. "So, no Rowley, no time alone with you?"

"Rowley can stay with you every other night and we can spend limited time together at breakfast, lunch and dinner or when I come into sickbay." He let out another sigh, that didn't seem like much time especially if he couldn't be the one making sure she was eating three meals a day, and worst of all she normally spent two of those meals in her ready room.

"And when the baby is born? Will I get visitation rights?" He looked up at her with puppy eyes.

"Don't expect me to be angry with you that long." At least he had a timeline now, he could deal with a few weeks of this, maybe a month total but hopefully after that he would work twice as hard to win her favor.

Q thought about it for a while trying to remember how far along she was. "Five months, that was what the doctor mentioned to me. Four months to go. I can work with that." He reached over to her pausing a moment and knowing he likely needed her permission. "May I?"

"I don't see why now she's your daughter too."

Q smiled and put his hand on her belly. For a moment he could remember late at night being curled up next to Janeway, he normally had an arm around her ow was stretched across as much of the bed as possible. She complained he was a bed hog and a blanket hog but at night he really only fell asleep when he was spooned up next to her. He wondered if he ever talked to their baby, some people did thinking they recognized their parents voices or that if he didn't she wouldn't know who he was. Q was startled a little pulling his hand back at looking up at Janeway. "She kicked."

"She does do that." Now who was being sassy, seemed she picked up something from him. "She recognizes your voice, she didn't do much these past few days until you came on the bridge and attacked my commander but when she heard your voice she started acting up again. I guess she remembers you. You both share something in common now, forgetting parts of your life."

"Forgetting, why what happened?" Q sounded concerned.

"Nexus, Teth, she use to have the ability to project herself mentally like a hologram until Teth. She lost that ability afterwards, possibly her memory from before, the Vidiian attack, Rowley, everything just like you."

"Teth." Q furrowed his brow thinking back on his dreams. He remembered faintly things about Teth and Nexus, he remembered what Teth told him, to not make the same mistakes. Amelia was still in danger, Teth had told him, he would never stop looking for her. Now Q knew what his nightmares were about, he remembered why he was afraid. He remembered why the only reason he could sleep was with Kathy nearby. He was keeping them safe. That had been his real promise.


	23. Bros' Before Hoes

Weeks had passed before Q was allowed to be freed from the brig and resume his work with the Doctor. The Captain had kept her distance for a few days until she started leaving Rowley with him and though he was not allowed in her quarters she would stay at his for a while to talk. Q was starting a new routine, heading to work every day on the dot and having a few arguments with the doctor though it seemed because of his amnesia he had been able to express his fears and thoughts with the hologram more. They could even call each other friends, Kes was Kes as usual, full of sunshine and smiles, and because of the attack Tom seemed to let him into the 'guys' fold a little more. They were but two young stallions, one young stallion and one ancient stallion older than time who could sit down and share their 'war' stories while simultaneously talking about the women who drove them crazy. In their case Torres and Janeway. They shared more in common than they realized and because of it Q felt more apart of the crew than ever. Even with some of his memories still lost to the wind he recovering and on his best behavior.

As he walked Rowley down the hall the familiar footsteps of Tom Paris crept up on him, his voice shouting out. "Hey Q, Harry and I are going to the holodeck in a few minutes. Do you want to join us?"

Q arched his brow pulling back on Rowley's leash. "Will their be women and booze?"

Paris shrugged his shoulders. "If you want."

"No, I'll pass on the women and booze but I could use some sun and the dog could use a pool to swim in."

"So, the resort then."

Q nodded his head. "Sounds good to me, I'll put on my best pineapple shirt."

It was the boys club as they called it, sitting around in the resort, poolside as attractive women in revealing swimsuits took in the sun and men who's bodies were a little intimidating played a large variety of sports that didn't interest Q too much. He had his fill of masculine display for a few lifetimes. That and he had hurt his hand on Chuckles face. Q laid out on one of the lounge chairs with a fruity drink in his hands, his dog laying on the ground next to him. The three men were spread out a fair distance apart but not far enough away so they had to tell to one another. Each sporting an obnoxiously loud looking shirt in colors of red, blues, and yellows with floral patterns or palm trees, in Q's case pineapples. Kim had a pair of hologram girls rubbing his shoulders as he rested his hands behind his head, meanwhile it seemed Paris and Q were in the same ship, don't let the hologirls touch you because the real life breathing girls might destroy you. They shared similar tastes, a fascination for women who could likely beat them in a fight. Strong independent women with a bit of a temper though Torres took the cake on rage. Sipping out of his drink again he shifted the little red umbrella around and let out another sigh. "I just don't understand women. I do everything right, try to make up for my mistakes and she still holds me at arms length."

"Or you try to get close to her and she pushes you away no matter how much of a nice guy you try to be." Paris sighed and took a sip of his own drink.

"I thought we were suppose to be relaxing, not talking about our problems. Isn't that the opposite of relaxation?" Kim added.

"Ha, just wait Kim, one of these days you'll get hit with it too and you will wake up every day wondering if she's out of your league. It's going to haunt you." Paris replied, his attention shifting for a moment to a group of hologirls as they walked by and waved at the little group of men.

"Kathy is out of my league, well, now that I'm mortal." He paused, "What women want in a relationship is stability, a man they can trust, a man who is there for better or for worse, for the long run." Holding up a tennis ball he turned it over in his hands. "Even when I was omnipotent I was never about stability. I was about bringing chaos to the tranquility, for Starfleet, for over three thousands planets in the universe, for the continuum." He chucked the tennis ball behind him letting it splash into the pool and sending Rowleys ears twitching as he lifted his head and ran off from his side. Like a rocket Rowley ran towards the pool and lept off the side making a big splash in the water and causing multiple holodeck characters scream in outrage. "See, point taken." As if Rowley had just proven his point.

"Well, it's getting a little better. You have to admit Q, I saw the two of you in the hall yesterday and she didn't walk past you. She stopped to say hello."

Q rolled his eyes. "So I have moved from being ignored and yelled at to small talk." He set down his drink and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well the captain isn't known for forgiving and forgetting too quickly. I still think you are lucky she didn't dump you off on the closest M class planet she could find." Kim joked, that little smile on his face showing he still had some dislike for Q but now that he was apart of their group he would be a little more friendly with him.

"At least you had a chance with Janeway. B'elanna won't even give me the time of day."

"Had a chance, not a comforting phrase, even you had a chance with Janeway Tom." Q groaned. "I read the report on it, by accident might I add." Tom seemed to sit up a little more and glance between Q and Kim not certain he really wanted Kim to know about the incident. "Don't worry I don't hold it against you, I even considered sending you a congratulations card and three cigars but was a little distracted when Kathy started throwing things at me." Paris continued to look rather uncomfortable, Kim a little confused about what Q was talking about. After all the incident was for the most part covered up and kept quiet. It was between Tuvok, Chakotay, the doctor, and of course Paris and Janeway.

"Well, now you are the one in the big seat Q, going to be a father, that's a change." Paris was quick to try and change the direction of the conversation before it went too far and they both got in trouble from the captain.

"Yes, kind of like the subject." Q had caught onto him before Paris even knew what he was trying to do.

"Come on, it's an honest question. Nervous? Excited?"

Q paused as Rowley brought back the tennis ball and plopped it soaking wet in Q's lap making him flinch. Pulling it out of his lap he tossed it back behind him. The sound of a second splash and more screams as Rowley dove in after it. "I'm elated and yet I'm starting to feel more and more that I am ill prepared for it. It's like an impending doom, for the first time in all of my exsistance I don't know what I am suppose to do, what is required. I have read educational material but even they don't specify what it is to be a father, least of all a human father. I have looked up Klingon rearing practices, Betazoid, Vulcan, Human, but nothing is agreed upon. I guess what I am saying, don't ever do it yourself unless you are ready to face the repercussions of screwing up someone else life, and I'm not talking about Kathy's life either." Picking up his drink again he took a sip. Kathryn had always wanted children herself, she had parents, good parents to have shown her to parent unlike himself. If she hadn't been his mate he likely wouldn't have come through this whole thing that well, nor would Amelia.

"You'll do just fine, trust me." Paris replied with that confident little devious smirk of his. This was why Q liked him, he could never tell when Paris was being honest, a man who could lie was a man you could trust. Humans didn't understand the concept but you could always trust that he wasn't going to tell you the painful truth. In this case that Q made horrible father material. Because of that simple lie Q had the hope that he would be capable of improving and that lie alone might just make it happen.

"Captain Janeway doesn't seem to think so." He leaned back against his chair and waited for the dog to return with his soaked toy.

"She's just giving you a hard time, running you through the test." Paris smiled, acting like he had all the answers on women, even the captain herself.

Kim looked over at him sitting up from his chair and resting his elbows on his knees. "And you know this how?"

"I know women, how they think, behave, the captain is no different than the rest of them. Sure she may be the boss, but in the end she still runs you through all the tests any other woman would. See if you have the guff." He paused as another group of women walked by and waved to him. "And trust me Q, you have it."

"Maybe you should not take advice from Tom, unless you want an angry captain on your hands." Kim suggested as he looked at Q, ever the goodie two shoes. There was something unsettling about people who didn't break the rules. "Just keep doing what you are doing, following the rules, don't do anything that will just make her angry again."

"Oh, well I agree with that, not to mention she almost kicked you off the ship once before." Paris agreed.

"I don't mind falling in line behind the captain but Chuckles...WHO she is making me report to now." Q grumbled, how typical of her to rub salt in the wounds. Taking another sip of his drink he jumped again as Rowley dropped the wet ball back in his lap and barked in his ear. As Q grabbed it to throw it a third time a hand came down and grabbed it from him. Instead it was tossed the other way, away from the pool sending Rowley to run past a group of younger men and down some steps hunting it down. "Hey." Q looked around for the intruder when he saw the Captain, great, was anyone going to alert him to the danger or were they just hoping he wouldn't notice Kathryn had been standing behind him just as he complained about Chuckles. Standing up quickly he looked down at his green shorts, the crotch wet from Rowley having dropped the soaked ball in his lap multiple times. Lowering his hands he covered up the wet patch and tried looking around the resort casually. "Captain, didn't see you standing there." He hadn't heard her coming either, damn she was so quiet.

"I should have known I would find you here." She rested her hands on her hips.

"I'm not looking at girls, or even drinking, look none alcoholic, it's just pineapple juice with a little coconut milk." He pushed the drink towards her as if to prove his point. "And I'm off duty right now, I'm not breaking any rules." Motioning back to Paris and Kim he wanted to make a point, no one was causing trouble. "Just hanging out with the boys, you know, doing guy stuff."

"That's all very well but do you remember what time it is?" Was that a loaded question she had just asked? He figured that was a loaded question.

Sheepishly he glanced back to Paris thinking he was right, she was testing him and he hadn't had time to study this quiz yet. "Time for me to..." Q paused and smiled at her. "call you beautiful?" That wasn't going to work.

"And here I was waiting in the mess hall for half an hour." Q realized he had screwed up.

"Our lunch date, I forgot that was today, every day just runs together." Now he felt like an ass, he had limited time he got to spend with her, every time he missed out on a lunch date or she did was just that much more time he had to make up for it. "I'm so sorry, do you still have time?" Q paused. "No, even better, meet me in my quarters in twenty minutes and I'll replicate something nice for us both. Candlelight, music, white wine...or not wine."

Rowley came back with the ball in his mouth going over to Janeway now. He knew who the top boss was here. "That won't be necessary I already ate."

"Tomorrow then?" He asked with a sheepish grin. He was in trouble wasn't he. Stepping forward he went to give her a kiss in the cheek but paused when she turned her back on him and started walking away.

"I'll see if I have time."


	24. The Borg

The past few weeks had been a nightmare, everything that had happened still left Q on edge, especially with that Borg blonde on the ship, what was her name? Seven? The whole incident with the Borg and the alien species, and Voyager being trapped in Borg space. It wasn't safe here, they had pissed off the Borg, and with one 'captive' on the ship they were at constant risk. He had spoken to Kes about this a few times, the risk of being in Borg space, the risk of having one of them on Voyager even if Kathryn felt she could 'help' her, the risk making enemies with a far more advanced alien race, so advanced even the Borg had trouble with them. He questioned Kathryn's choices and he wasn't alone in doing so. Others on the crew questioned her short lived alliance with the Borg and keeping Seven on the ship. If it had been up to Q he would have tossed it off Voyager and gone one with his day not giving it a second thought. Continuing down the hall Q found himself on constant high alert, even as Tom came up behind him and threw an arm around him Q jumped off the ground and prepared himself for a fight against that female Borg. Spinning on his toes he took up a fighting stance that would have guaranteed his ass getting handed to him only to see Paris standing there laughing. "A little spooked there Q?"

"You would be too if you were me." He grabbed his chest and took in a deep breath feeling like he was going to have a heart attack thanks to Tom Paris.

"Afraid of the Borg?"

"Aren't you?" As much as he loved Tom Paris for who he was sometimes he wondered if the man enjoyed flirting with danger far too much, after all he did have a thing for the half Klingon. Most didn't have the nerves for that.

"Of course I am but you don't see me jumping every time someone walks up to me." Paris joked back and patted Q a little harder on the back as if he was trying to prove something. Paris was cocky and didn't fear much but Q could not say the same without his powers. If he could snap his fingers and send the Borg into to nearest nebula then he wouldn't be that concerned either. Since that ability was gone he was a prime target for assimilation. Just imagine, all the knowledge of the Q in the Borg's hands. Not just that either, he had Janeway and Amelia to think about as well. If they assimilated Janeway now then they could assimilate Amelia. A Q Borg, a Borg with all the powers of a Q, that would spell disaster for every humanoid race. Something Janeway likely hadn't even considered.

"Try having someone you love and a child trapped here in Borg space..." Q muttered and crossed his arms feeling a little helpless. His powers would have been very appreciated about now but this was why they had been taken away. He would have used them to change the destiny of humans, he would have used them to move Voyager out of Borg space, to 'delete' the Borg if need be, to change the history and fate of this crew and hundreds of species in this part of space. Paris wrapped an arm around Q's shoulder giving him a brotherly half hug to brighten up the mans day but it wasn't working.

"Don't worry Q, I bet the Captain has something up her sleeve." Q put on a half hearted smile and nodded his head, she better because he was all out of magic tricks. As if to make matters worse the hallway went dark, the red lights lighting up along the edges of the ceiling. Red Alert, now he really felt empowered. Paris looked around a moment, hearing the warning ring out over the com system. "I need to get to the bridge. I'm this ships best pilot."

Grabbing his arm Q started following after him. "I'll come with you, in case someone gets injured on the bridge I can provide some medical assistance, and maybe some counseling to your wayward captain." He was telling a half truth, he really wanted to be on the bridge to make sure Kathryn didn't make another stupid choice and put them at more risk, more importantly HERSELF. "It's the Borg isn't it." His voice sounded grim.

"Don't jump to conclusions, it could be a bug on the windshield." Paris joked. Look at him, so calm in a situation where they were staring down death itself. What the hell did this man eat for breakfast?

"Too late, I have already concluded it's the Borg." They ran together to the turbo lift heading up to the bridge. Once the men stepped out they saw just what Q had feared, a Borg cube. Paris went straight for con as Q walked up behind Janeway. He knew he was still not allowed on the bridge but perhaps she would make an exception over this. "Captain." Q spoke up and rested his hand on the small of her back.

"Q, I don't need you hear, I need you in sickbay with Kes and the doctor. Everyone at their stations."

"With due all respect Janeway I'm staying here with you, I'll be needed on the bridge even more should something go wrong and a member on the bridge needs medical assistance." The couldn't fight a Borg cube, they were going to have to run from this fight and hopefully Paris could accomplish such a task. Q was counting on him.

"Fine just stay out of the way." She pushed him aside. "Raise shields."

As soon as the Cube was close enough it locked a tractor beam onto the ship, at this rate they were not going to get out. Not without help, Q ran over to one of the stations controlled by a bridge crew member and pushed them out of the way. "Don't tell the captain about this." He ordered the crew member, another ensign. Not that Q outranked them but he still had all the knowledge of a Q. If he couldn't use his powers to 'blink' the Borg away then he would think them out of trouble. Pressing his com badge he glanced back making sure Janeway wasn't looking. "Torres can you hear me? I'm going to ask you to make some very specific changes in the shields frequency, don't question anything just do it."

"Captain they are pulling us in. I can't break free." Paris didn't bother to turn to look at her as he tried to get them free.

"Captain someone has discharged a tachyon burst against the hull of the ship." Tuvok warned as the ship shook violently for a moment.

"Captain we broke free." Paris called back seconds later.

"Get us out of here Mr. Paris." She turned to look for Q unable to find him, what the hell was he up to.

"Perfection Torres, now they are going to try to fire at us, the shields won't be at full strength, we have to get them back to to their maximum and change the frequency to disrupt them, like Teth did when he took over the shields. It should absorb energy but if they fire a photon torpedo at us...we might need some help. I'm going to try to get to engineering from here." Q stumbled as the firefight got underway already. The ship shaking once again as she took fire from the Borg cube. He was stuck between wanting to go back and protect Kathryn or get to engineering and protect the crew. Being human, making sacrifices, family vs friends. Being human was bothersome, you had to make choices, something Q had never been good at. Tapping his com badge he tried to contact Kathryn and let her know just what he was up to. "Captain, Kathryn, it's Q, I'm going to engineering to help, Kathryn please respond." He growled and rolled his eyes tapping his badge again. "Doctor you might be getting a few patients into sickbay. Alert Kes."

Unlike the captain the doctor responded quickly. "I can't find Kes, she's not in her quarters nor in sickbay."

Q grumbled, this wasn't going according to plan. "I need to get to engineering."

"And I need you here Ensign Q." The doctor responded.

This whole situation was tumbling wildly out of hand. First things first, he had to get back to the bridge, then to sickbay, and right to engineering. No problem. Ensign Q, to save the day. Another volley of attacks and Q stumbled in the hall falling up against one of the walls. Getting back to his feet he reached the bridge again opening the door and nearly tripping over Tuvok on the floor. "Tuvok." Q grabbed the Vulcan and helped him up. "Where are the shields at?" The Vulcan coughed on the smoke that filled the bridge. It looked like his tactical station had experienced a bit of an energy overload and blew out. Seeing the Vulcan wasn't in immediate danger he passed him up and looked over to see Paris still at the helm, Commander Chakotay down on the floor along with a few others on the bridge. "Chakotay? Are you alright?" He yelled over at the commander.

"I'm alright." He called back, groaning as he pushed himself upright.

Another volley of fire from the Borg cube sent Q stumbling back onto the floor and seeing Kathryn get up off the ground, her forehead bleeding. "Kathy." Q pushed himself back up and crawled over to her looking at the cut on her forehead. "Lets get you to sickbay."

She pushed him away. "It's just a scratch, there are others on the bridge who need to get sickbay more than I do." Stubborn until the end.

Pressing his com he grabbed her arm. "Doctor, I'm coming down to sickbay with a few patients."

"It's about time, I am being over run with people coming in from Engineering."

The ship shook again knocking Q back onto the floor and nearly taking the captain with him. "The ships hull is becoming unstable." Tuvok yelled over the sound of the twisting hull. "It's coming from inside the ship."

"What the..." Q furrowed his brow as she ship shook again.

"Kes is in the shuttle bay, she's starting up one of the shuttles." Tuvok continued.

Another volley from the Borg cube his the ship making the bridge light up for a brief moment. "Come on Kathy, Chakotay you have the bridge, Torres is bringing the shields back. I'm getting Kathy to sickbay and heading to engineering to help."

"Q if you have forgotten I am the captain, I give the orders." Janeway snapped at him as he put an arm around her.

"Oh shut up Kathy, yell at me later if you want to but you don't need to be on the bridge while it's falling apart."

"That is precisely where I need to be." She argued back.

"Two months from now you can standing on a burning bridge all you like but not with that baby in you. Risk your own life but it's not fair to risk Amelia's." She glared at him knowing he was right, she really hated it when he was right. Pressing his com badge he tried to contact Kes now. "Kes get to the sickbay, we need your help."

"I can't do that Q, I'm sorry." Her response was quick.

"Why not? Are your legs broken? If no then get to sickbay."

"I can."

"Well then I am coming down to the shuttle bay to drag you to sickbay." He growled nearly tearing his com badge off his uniform.

"I know you don't understand now but it will make sense soon enough, trust me Q. This is the only way."

He rolled his eyes, cryptic, why was it everyone who had the smallest telepathic ability in the humanoid world had to be cryptic? He had never been cryptic. Getting outside of the bridge he brought Kathryn with him to the turbo lift. "Sickbay." Q ordered the computer as it started it's decent. Everything was going smoothly for once, not really. The ship was hit by the Borg cube again causing the ship to shake the the turbo lift to get stuck. "Great." Q walked over to the turbo lifts doors and tried prying them open with his bare hands. "Kathryn give me a hand?"

She didn't respond, partially curled up on the other side of the lift, she looked to be in more pain than she had on the bridge. Had she taken a harder hit to her head than he had thought? He couldn't be worried about it now. Over her com badge he could hear Kes's voice. "Captain, I would like to thank you for everything you have done for me but I'm afraid I have to leave you now. Please don't ever forget me." She paused a moment making Q reach for the captains com so he could yell at Kes even if it wouldn't do them any good. "You have done so much for me over these past years, let me do something for you."

Just as he grabbed Kathryn's shoulder the ship shook again nearly throwing the two of them to the other side of the lift. Before Q could hit the ground he felt that funny and familiar feeling he use to get back when he teleported about. His body dematerializing but this wasn't a transporter beam on Voyager, it was something else. It was another Q.


	25. Fathers Perfect Timing

He hadn't known what to expect, maybe opening his eyes surrounded by Borg, on earth, it would have been best if he had shown up in sickbay. Instead he opened his eyes looking up at the ceiling of one of the cargo bays. This was both annoying and confusing. Quickly he looked around trying to find Kathy who wasn't too far from his own position. Reaching over to her he grabbed her hand happy to see she was at least alive. it didn't seem like the ship was under attack anymore. "Are you alright Kathy?" They had both taken quite the spill in the turbo lift. Nearly knocked the wind out of Q. Pressing his com badge he tried telling the doctor he would be right there but the com wasn't working. "Great." Pushing himself up he walked over to the door. "Yup, great luck. It's fried. Must have taken damage during the attack." Turning back to Kathy he tried brushing off his jacket. "I guess we are stuck here until someone comes and gets us out. Once they figure out where we are." Janeway stood up holding her side and nearly falling against one of the crates. She had looked better than this, then again she had looked worse. Q moved quickly to be at her side and help her stand. She kept curling over in pain and holding her side, clenching her teeth through it. "Are you alright?"

"No, it really..." She paused grabbing his hand and letting out a pained groan. "Ah, this isn't really how I expected today to g..." She growled holding his hand tighter.

"How long have you been in pain?" He asked a little concerned.

"Since the turbo..." She tried standing only to curl over in pain again. Q gently helped her back down to the ground leaning her against one of the cargo crates. He grip was so tight on his arm now that he was in pain.

"Since the cargo lift? How bad is the pain, what sort of pain are you feeling?" His questions were a little too specific for her as she nearly dug her nails into him and twisted his arm a little crying out in pain again. The look on her face fully expressing the misery she was in. "Kathy, let go, you are starting to hurt me." Q cried out trying to pull his arm away from her.

"I don't care it makes me feel better." She moaned between clenched teeth before taking in a deep breath. For a short second Kathryn had a look on her face between surprise and shock. Either she was going to pass out or jump up and start singing a song. He really hoped it was the later. "I don't know how to say this." She looked back at him trying to grasp the situation she was in right now and put it into words. From the look on her face early her the way she had grabbed his arm she seemed to have been in serious pain but now she looked a little like she had transcended it for a brief moment. A moment of clarity coming to her eyes. "Either I just wet my pants or..." That wasn't something he had expected her to say and he might have been able to live a long happy and fulfilled life never having heard her said it but that look on her face that followed made him feel like he wished she did wet her pants. His knee slowly getting wet from where he crouched beside her.

"Kathryn please tell me you DID wet your pants." He showed a hint of absolute terror on his face.

"I think I would know if I did, and I don't think I did." She was able to remain calm for a few seconds more before her grip on his arm started to rival that of an earth serpent known as the boa.

"Oh wow, you have a really strong grip." Q commented as he felt her nails dig into him through his uniform. He pressed his com again knowing it didn't work before he reached forward and pressed hers ignoring the fact he had accidentally coped a feel at the same time. "Anyone anyone, this is an emergency. Someone please help." No response. "Are you sure Kathy?" Her grip only tightened answering the question for her. "Okay we have to stay calm, your due date was set around December 20th? That's currently a month an a half away, nope about two months away." Q was trying to take deep breaths now. "If I could get the doors open and get you to sickbay in time we might be able to stop the contractions I bet."

She squeezed his arm again making him break his concentration. "I think it's a little too late for that now, this is my first child but I think after your water breaks there is only one outcome left." She leaned forward again groaning in pain as another contraction near crippled her.

Grabbing her shoulders Q tried to keep himself calm. "Okay take deep breaths Kathy, I'm thinking of something. I'm getting us out of here." He got up trying to leave, maybe he could take a jefferies tube up to another floor and get help. As he went to go get help Kathy pulled him back down, he wasn't leaving her for even a second.

"Don't leave please." She was still in a lot of pain, he couldn't even imagine what she was going through, well some of it he could. He was near a panic attack himself.

"I have to, I have to get help, at least I have to find the doctor. We are not equipped to be delivering a baby in the cargo bay, especially not a premature one."

"I know." She gasped taking in a deep breath and looking up at the ceiling as if she could find some answer there. Her hand moving to the collar of his shirt as she bunched it up in a fist and pulled him closer to her. "But it would be worse if I was alone down here, you still have medical training." She let him go trying to cover her own mouth as she screamed into her arm. This was going from bad to very bad, to screwed. Q rested a hand against her back wishing someone would open the door about now. Someone had to find them. As she took in another breath fighting through everything like his wonderful brave warrior she was her eyes shifted back to him. "There is an emergency medical kit over there. It's the best we can hope for right now."

He took her hand in his wondering if she realized what she was asking him to do. "Kathy, I haven't ever delivered a baby. I know I said I have done extensive research on it so I could assist the doctor when the time came but..."

She pulled him closer to her again. "And we don't have another choice. You can't get the doors open, you can't contact anyone and tell them where we are, and." She cringed closing her eyes a second and fighting through whatever pain she was in. "And you can't leave me now because that would be an even greater risk. Even if you did find someone, if something went wrong while you were away we could both be in trouble before you came back. Trust me, this isn't how I wanted it to be either but this is the situation we are left with." Her grip tightened again, taking in another deep breath. "But I trust you to get us through this." She pressed her lips against his hoping that would be enough to make him calm down enough to do what he had to.

Nodding his head Q took off his jacket and balled it up so he could rest it behind her back. "Okay." He agreed getting back up to grab the emergency medical kit. At least it would have a medical tricorder and a hypospray with something for the pain. That was the best they could hope for right now. "Keep breathing Kathy, slow deep breaths." Running to where the medical kit was kept he pulled it out dragging it back towards her. If only they had spare blankets or anything else useful. "Easy." He smiled at her pulling out the medical tricorder with shaking hands. "The good thing is sometimes labor can take several hours. They might be able to get to us before we are resorted to delivering this baby in the cargo bay." He tried looking on the bright side as he scanned her. "So far so good. Your vital signs look good for someone in labor, I think. Baby is a little stressed but nothing dangerous yet."

"So how did we end up here?"

"Seven months ago I asked you to have a baby with me and I mistook your desire to sleep with me as a yes." Q joked only to have her roll her eyes. Rolling her eyes, at a time like this, how very Kathryn of her.

"I meant cargo bay."

Q looked around a little baffled by that himself. "I can only assume it was the baby, she must have been distressed in the turbo lift, might have known you were going to go into labor and tried getting us to sickbay when the turbo lift stalled. She just didn't bring us to the right place. I'm sure she's as stressed out as we are right now."

"I'll accept that explanation only because it's the only thing that makes sense right now." She grabbed his hand again feeling another contraction and nearly crushing his fingers and she fought through it. "If I kept my legs closed it's not guaranteed to help is it."

"Only if you can go back in time and take that approach seven months ago." Q smiled. She tried laughing at his jokes, he just wanted to keep up her spirits but it wasn't long before she was in pain again. Leaning forward again Janeway cried out wishing like hell she was anywhere doing anything other than being here doing this. "I know how prude you are and that you have been really adamant about me getting you out of your pants these days but hear me out when I say, we need to take off your pants so I can monitor your cervix."

"I hate you so much right now." She groaned holding his hand tighter again. "I know that's not a joke but I could still kill you."

Q smiled knowing she was just lashing out right now, when she was wounded she disliked showing weakness. Instead she was the sort to strike back, since their was no enemy to attack at current he was the only thing to lash out at. "That's okay, kill me afterwards if you feel the need to but you know what?" She looked up at him feeling a strange combination of love and hate. "Don't worry though, I don't hate you Kathy. In fact I don't think I could love you any more than I do right now." He tried pulling her pants down when she stopped him.

"No, if they do come to rescue us I really don't want to..."

"Be caught with your pants down?" He laughed reaching over to her shoulder and squeezing it lightly. "Take off your jacket, it's longer than mine, I can use it to cover you up. Then if they come in for the big rescue they won't have to see a thing." She was so shy it was amazing. Quickly he helped her take off her jacket and covered her from the hips down so she wouldn't blush when someone broke the doors down to save them. "Do you have any of those spare starfleet issued blankets in here by chance? As much as I would hate to throw our newborn against that horrid fabric that might be our only option."

"No." She breathed in again, her face contorting a little as she fought back more pain and tried to focus on what was in this cargo bay. "There's the emergency rations, a few spare parts for engineering, some..." She leaned forward again clenching her jaw shut so she didn't yell again. Breathing in deeply Janeway fought it until the pain passed again. It was starting to last longer and show up more often. "Thermal sheeting, it's used for when a fire breaks out."

"That doesn't sound very comfortable." He frowned, but if that was all they had that was all they had.

"It's not suppose to be comfortable, it's suppose to keep you from dying in a fire." There she was being sassy again. They were spending too much time together.

Q pulled his jacket from behind her and set it down at her side. "Okay, be right back." It took him a while to get everything together, what little he could. Time seemed to pass by quickly as he laid the thermal sheeting beneath her and made her as comfortable as possible. His attention moving between her and the door in hopes any minute they would come running in to help them. They were given a short moment where she was completely free of pain but it had been short lived and before long she was laying back against the crate near tears. Q scanned her again and felt his heart racing as he peeked to see where she was. His face when ghostly white realizing their situation was desperate now, help wasn't going to arrive in time. "Well good news and bad news Kathy which do you want first?" She was laid back breathing heavily now, groaning through he teeth as her only real answer. "Alright, well you are just about ready to give birth, that's the good and bad news."

As if she had been holding her breath for hours she let out a deep sigh shifting a little. "I thought you said it could take several hours."

"Well it can." Q rubbed his forehead nervously. "And then it can also happen quickly. It depends. It's not always the same you know but think of it this way. You are being spared several hours of enduring painful contractions and..." He paused when she let out another cry in pain, a lot louder than she had before, her hand reaching out for his. "Breath Kathryn." He coached her along. "Not much longer now, just hold on a little longer." It felt like one hell of a ride, he hadn't known how much time had passed or how much longer they would have to wait until someone came to get them but he did know this baby was less than ten minutes from meeting them both in person. He felt a sort of excitement and fear over it. Seven months ago when he had gotten her pregnant he had never really imagined what this day was going to be like. Now he was living today and he felt as ill prepared to be a father as he was the day he asked Kathryn to have a baby with him. In seven months he hadn't learned anything to help him be a perfect father. Kathryn had another contraction pulling him away from his thoughts and bringing him back to reality. "I don't know how you feel right now but I think it's about time Kathy."

"I feel like getting this over with, in other words that is the best news you have told me all day." She sounded a little short of breath but he couldn't do anything about that right now. She had to deal with it, with all of it. Q looked up at her a little amazed by her appearance. her long auburn locks had half fallen down, some clinging to her face, blood still streaked down a portion of her forehead. She was an absolute mess, a disaster and yet she had never seemed more beautiful to him than she was right now. As frightened as he was he couldn't help but smile and realize this brilliant captain was the mother of his child.

"Okay, whenever you feel a contraction coming up it would be ideal to start pushing." No sooner had he spoke she was hit with another one, her face contorting with more discomfort as she pushed. Before he felt as though time had been moving at a rapid pace and now it was slowed down to a painful crawl. He could have mistaken seconds for months, minutes for years. He was reliving every day one by one. From that fun night they had spent together on the sofa in her ready room to the first time Amelia had projected herself and practically begged him to meet her mother to be. Even that horrible day the Vidiian's had taken her all the way to the moment on the bridge before he had brought her into the turbo lift. Then that moment hit him where he finally saw her for the first time, time itself standing still. "Come on Kathy, a few more good pushes." He could tell she was tired but as stubborn as she was she kept it up. The baby nearly slipping into his arms after he freed her shoulders. For a minute he was completely speechless looking down at those big bright blue eyes staring up at him with about as much alarm as he had on his own face. He couldn't say a thing, couldn't even breath until he was surrounded by a warm sensation. Ready or not here she was, he was a daddy. "She's..." He paused not even certain their were words to describe her. Perfection didn't catch her just right. "She most certainly has her mothers eyes and I think she got my cheek bones." He smiled slowly letting it fade as her skin turned a strange shade of blue. "She's not breathing." Q panicked laying her down on his jacket and rubbing her chest to make her take a breath. "Come on Amelia." Opening her mouth he used a finger to clear out her air way. He had known this could be a risk, she was premature, her lungs weren't ready for a life outside the womb and without proper medical tools he didn't know if he could help her.

Rubbing her chest still he tried making her breath, panic sinking back into him. After all this time, after this long wait he wasn't going to see her for the first time just so he could let her die. "Dammit Amelia breath." He yelled at her knowing that wouldn't help. Knowing the basics of CPR Q tried his luck with that knowing he had to be careful. He had learned how to perform it on an infant but she was a little more fragile that that. Not much bigger than one of his hands he knew it wouldn't take much to break her bones and kill her but still he had to try. Time seemed to move slowly again as he worked to make Amelia breath. After what felt like minutes there was a sharp shriek in his ears as Amelia choked, her tiny hands shaking while she took in a breath, the color returning to her skin. No sooner had she taken her first breath she unleashed the full power of her little lungs testing them out with a high pitched cry much louder than he had expected a tiny person her size to create. Even if her lungs hadn't been ready to breath right out of the womb they were more than ready to scream and cry, and cry she did.

Her whole body was trembling against the cold now as Q cut the cord and wrapped his jacket around her in hopes he could keep her warm long enough for their rescue. Holding her close to his chest he looked over at Kathy, a big stupid grin on his face as he moved closer to her. "Amelia, I don't know if you remember anymore but I know about six months ago there was someone who you really wanted to meet. So much so you didn't listen to a word I said and showed up to meet her anyways. I think now she wants to meet you." Carefully he passed the trembling crying bundle to Janeway watching as her face light up the way he knew it would. He had told her that day when she had a change of heart over having a baby that this day would be coming. That day she would hold their baby for the first time and wouldn't want to remember her life without her. It didn't surprise Q that Amelia quieted down after Kathryn had her, her big blue eyes looking over the captain with a sort of recognition. For a second it even looked like she let out a tiny sigh of relief. "I think she remembers you Kathy."

She smiled looking down at her new daughter and nodding her head in agreement. "I think she does." Her voice was quiet and a little breathy, either because she was exhausted or really didn't want to startle Amelia. Wrapping an arm around Kathryn Q rested his chin on her shoulder.

It hadn't taken too much longer for their rescue and to have his family moved into sickbay. Kathryn was given a clean bill of health and Amelia given some drugs to help her adapt faster to breathing on her own and kick starting her digestive track. It had been a bit of a struggle to get her to nurse for the first time and even after that she continued to test out her lungs capabilities with ear splitting shrieks and cries before just passing out. Janeway was resting now, his little daughter bundled up in something less itchy and more comfortable with perfect climate control to keep her from getting cold. Standing next to the incubator she was sleeping in Q gently poked a finger down stroking her chest, her body much smaller than he had expect. A little smile came to his face when she let out a little whimper and curled her small fingers around his own. Glancing back at Kathryn he couldn't help but let another smile cross his face. His eyes shifting back down to Amelia with the little pink hat on her head to keep her warm. "Don't tell your mother this Amelia but." He paused getting a little closer to her so he could whisper. "I don't care if you ever change the continuum, I'm just happy you are here."


	26. Amelia

Kes had been their saving grace, pushing them beyond Borg space. Q owed his thanks to her as much as he did Teth but now wasn't a time to miss friends lost. Now was a time for Q to keep his promise to Kathryn and be the father he had to be. After a week in sickbay Kathryn wasn't the only one getting cabin fever. She hadn't been required to remain in sickbay the entire time with the baby but had you asked her to walk away from Amelia for more than a few seconds she would have given you by far her best death glare yet. So long as Amelia was trapped in sickbay so was her mother. Luckily sickbay was where Q worked, though work wasn't what he had done the past week. Now even baby Amelia was dying to get out of this same old boring place where every time the doctor attempted to charm her with baby talk she broke down crying for mommy. Q had spent somewhat sleepless nights getting the captains quarters ready for baby Amelia. He had replicated her a nice crib and a whole slew of cute space themed bedding. He even replicated her first stuffed animal, a little brown puppy dog that looked a little like Rowley. For a second he had considered making her a white bunny rabbit but after remembering his nightmares he couldn't bare giving his newborn such a toy. Walking into sickbay he got a big smile on his face, every day it seemed someone was bringing by something for Amelia or Kathryn, flowers, stuffed animals, a few blankets, Sam and Naomi had even brought by a bunch of pink balloons with Amelia's name on them. No question about it little Naomi was looking forward to getting a playmate.

There was a bunch of pink roses in a white vase sitting on a table not far from the incubator Amelia had called home for the last seven days. Kathryn leaning over the side of the incubator and trying to get their little princess to stop her fussing. "It's alright Amy, I'm just going over here for a few seconds. Mommy will be right back." Kathryn again attempted to step away only to have the baby start up crying again, her whole body shaking as her face turned a bright red and forced the captain to walk back over to the incubator and rub the baby's belly. "I'm here Amy it's okay." She tried to smile, a look of exhaustion on her face. "I don't know why you keep thinking I'm going to walk away and won't come back." The baby calmed down again looking up at her mother and slowly closing her eyes as if she would fall asleep. "I'm just trying to get all your things together so we can get out of sickbay."

"Can I help?" Q walked closer to her as she dealt with their crabby little angel.

"Yes please." She sounded a little too happy to have him there right now. "Is the room ready?"

Q put his arms around Kathryn and kissed her lightly on the nape of her neck. "Absolutely." It was refreshing to be able to hold her again and not have her push him away. It seemed he had been forgiven of all his behavior up until now. All he had to do was keep his record shiny clean now, easy enough with little Amy to look after. Picking up their daughter Q held her close still a little amazed by how small she was. They were lucky at that, according to the doctor she was a fairly reasonable size for a baby born two months early. Lightly rocking her it gave Kathryn a chance to get their things together though Amy stilled fussed about having her mother out of her sight. Cooing into Q's arm he tried to bounce her a little and keep her red alert from going off. "Stop making those funny faces Amy, I know you are getting cranky." He smiled as she scrunched up her face clearly trying to fight sleep. If any child on earth was good and fighting sleep it was his daughter, lucky them. For an infant she could go a looooong time without shutting her eyes, likely all that coffee Kathy drank while pregnant. At least that was the joke he kept telling himself while they sat up late at night, both exhausted and trying to make her sleep. "You know she shares something with you, she is horribly adorable when she gets crabby." Q joked as Amy went into another funny face, just on the edge of screaming and passing out.

"She's adorable no matter what mood she's in." Kathryn replied looking back at him as he still made his valiant attempt to keep her quiet.

It wasn't much longer now before Amelia broke out into a fit and started crying, for someone who was born unable to breath she had one hell of a set of lungs on her. Those stimulants the doc had given her really were working wonders. Either that or she was showing off those strong Janeway genes of hers. Q liked to think it was the later, his choice of mate had been far beyond just Janeway's looks and his feelings towards her though they had played a part. It had been her fighting spirit, her tenacity, her strength and courage. If Amelia had been born of someone else well, she never would have survived what she already had. "Wow, you have a set of pipes on you there." It would be a little funnier if she wasn't so loud and her voice wasn't at such a pitch it could cause your ears to ache after too long. You really couldn't ignore her demands. "I'm curious as to how it's going to work when you go back to being on the bridge." That was if she wanted to go back to the bridge soon. As Captain she could command the ship from where ever she saw fit. She certainly had been doing a damn fine job of it from the sickbay. No sooner had the baby been born Janeway was already in control of the crew again and giving orders to repair the ship, remap their new and current location, scan for any M class planets or sources of energy they could use to refill their power supply, and at the same time rocking their newborn to sleep. She was one hell of a woman, she made the average multitasker envious of her abilities.

Walking over she took Amelia from him and not a moment too soon as they were both feeling the ear ringing effects of their daughters cries. Almost instantly Amy quieted down while Janeway rocked her, speaking more to the baby than Q when she gave her response. "Well I know children are not allowed on the bridge, especially babies but we might be able to make an acceptation for you." It wasn't a great idea being at the center of danger during a firefight but safety wasn't guaranteed anywhere on the ship. That was what frightened her most. She couldn't grantee her daughter could be safe on Voyager but her daughter seemed more than capable of deflecting most weapons fire. "You can stay in my ready room, you just have to be a good little girl and stay quiet." She poked Amy's nose making the baby yawn, the first good sign she was possibly going to fall asleep.

"Quiet? Are you thinking of Naomi? I don't think our daughter is capable of being quiet."

"Mmmm, and where do you think she gets that from." Janeway cracked a smile and glanced back at him. Amy closed her eyes again with another yawn, the both of them holding their breaths for a moment in hopes she would keep them shut this time. It seemed they just might have successfully put her out after several hours of trying to get her to sleep. Right before they could breath out knowing Amy was on the downward slope however she sprang back to life and opened her eyes looking back up to her mother.

"Yes, but she gets her stubbornness from you." Q laughed. "Only a week old and already has an iron clad will." God she would going to be one hell of a trip once she hit her teen years. Q didn't want to rush it. The younger she was the easier it would be to keep her in line, hopefully. Unless she inherited his rebellious nature then they were in for a very long eternity. Or at least until both of them died of old age and left the universe to fend for itself against their little hybrid spawn. "And she is certainly a mommy's girl. Typical, everyone loves you more." He crossed his arms over his chest pretending to be bothered by it. "I don't blame them, you are an amazing captain."

"Well this amazing captain has her arms full with a sleepy baby, if her amazing boyfriend could assist her with packing the rest of their stuff that would be even better." She always knew what to say to make him obey her. More than anything Q was excited to hear her address him as boyfriend. She hadn't ever really called him anything before aside from a thorn in her side. Being upgraded to boyfriend was a good feeling. Seemed like having a baby really brought two people close together.

"Amazing boyfriend, Amy did you hear what your mother just called me?" He brushed his fingers over the baby's head as she started lulling off into sleep again. His eyes flickering back to Janeway with a mischievous flicker in them. "Does this mean I'm allowed to stay in your quarters again?" She hadn't officially lifted his ban from the bridge, her ready room, and her quarters. In the past week she hadn't been interested in going back to her quarters without the baby leaving them both sort of trapped in sickbay because honestly Q couldn't bare it himself to leave Amelia for too long either.

"I would say you have earned it, just don't think you are getting lucky anytime soon. I just don't think it's fair for only one of us to be sleep deprived while the other is well rested. Now that we share a child it's only right we share in both the joys and the trials." She was devious but if that was her way of saying she forgave him then he would take it with grace.

"Oh, by the way." Q remembered something before baby Amelia's name became official in her medical records. He walked over finishing to pack up all the gifts they had acquired over the week. "I know I fought you tooth and nail for her middle name to be Q. I felt some need to have even the smallest claim on her, after all she's got your last name since I don't have one, and you picked her name however I would like to suggest a change before it's set ins tone."

"Oh?" Kathryn raised a brow and looked down at Amelia who was now sleeping soundly. Very gently she shifted her a little so her arms wouldn't get tired. "What do you want her middle name to be?"

Q took a deep breath hoping it wouldn't sound like a silly name. "Keth." He paused knowing it sounded just about as bad as it did in his head. "Now hear me out before you say it's a stupid name. I put a lot of thought into it, as simple as it may sound but we owe two people her life. Teth sacrificed himself to let her live, he knew the risks of leaving her alive but he also knew she deserved this chance, the chance to meet us, to grow up. We also owe Kes a lot as well and honestly if she was still on Voyager I had every intention to name her Amelia's godmother. If not for Kes we would have been trapped in Borg space, Amelia would have been fitted with a robotic arm and one of those...eye thinggies. She never would have been able to live the life Teth had wanted her to have and so I thought Keth would be a good middle name, in honor of the two other people responsible for her life. You know aside from the obvious people, us. We went through all the trouble of making her, they went through all the trouble to make sure she made it here."

"Amelia Keth Janeway. Amelia K. Janeway sounds like a good name for a future admiral." Kathryn smiled watching her little daughter sleep, her expression rather content for the time being. So long as no one made any loud sound to wake her.

"Admiral Amelia Janeway?" Q raised a brow trying to keep himself from shaking his head. "She's a week old and already you have her life planed out up to her becoming admiral? That's a lot of pressure for someone who is seven days old."

"Not as much as being the messiah for the Q Continuum." She tilted her head to the side and reminded him just why Amelia existed in the first place. Putting the bag under his arm he walked over to them again poking at Amelia gently so she didn't wake up screaming.

"Well it's not as if I want her to become grand empress of the place, just set a good example. She can be whatever she wants to be when she grows up, even grand empress of the continuum if it suites her. She's apart of the continuum, part of her anyways. No matter what she does it will affect them all. Even if she does nothing at all. The greatest thing she can do for them is to grow up with your heart. After that well, Amelia has eternity to set them all straight. She's already changed them for the better by living, she has so much to teach them by just being the person she is. That is what they need to understand. Freedom, she is the very spirit of that." Q looked back at Janeway wondering if she knew how much this little girl was going to change the views of those stifled Q's in the continuum. "Lets get going to our quarters." He said the word our with a good bit of glee. "Rowley has been barking up the wall to meet his baby sister. I promise, he won't bark when we go in though, and he won't be jumping or climbing walls either." Q smiled. "In fact he's actually taken up a rather protective post next to the crib. Don't think we need to worry about little Amy with Rowley at her side." It still remained to be seen what the dog would think of the newborn but Q had a feeling he would accept her happily. After all he had created the animal and put loyalty as one of his greater personality traits. That mutt would be loyal to Amelia and Kathryn up until his death, very much the same way Q would be.


	27. The Godfather

"Space, the final frontier." Janeway spoke to the baby as she sat near the window in her ready room showing her daughter just how vast her world really was now. "And far far away from here is your home, Earth. I hope I can show you Earth some day Amy." One day she would walk her daughter through those wide open fields near the farmhouse she had grown up on. Though it was unlikely her daughter would share the same joy when they reached Earth she wanted her to know what that planet meant to her, to both of them. She wanted Amelia to meet her grandmother and aunt, to take Rowley for a real walk in the woods where she had grown up. All she really had here was her parents and of course the crew of the Voyager. Still Voyager wasn't a place for a child to grow up, this wasn't what Kathryn wanted her daughter to remember as home. Of course Earth would never be her only home, she belonged to the continuum as much as she belonged to Earth. A child born to two worlds, it made her wonder if it was going to turn out for the best or for the worst.

Quietly Q stepped into the ready room and smiling to see Janeway perched at the window with their daughter. "Enjoying the view?"

Janeway turned her attention from the window and looked down at the baby, her big eyes already starting to shift over to a teal shade. "It's never too soon to start learning. I was telling our daughter about some of the stars in the distance and the planets around them, and I might have mentioned Earth to her."

Q walked over to the pair and leaned against the wall beside the captain. "Earth, afraid she will never see it for herself?"

"No, she will see it for herself one day, I just." Janeway paused looking back at Amy as she bounced her a little. "I'm attached to Earth because it's where I was born, where I grew up, where my family is. It's my home." The baby's eyes were still fixed on the window, looking out at the stars, rather curious for such a young child, only a few weeks old and she could admire and study the stars. At least she looked to be doing just that. "Amelia was born here in the Delta Quadrant, on Voyager. I'm worried one day when we get back to Earth she will feel as though she is far from home. Far from the stars that became familiar to her, the planets she recognizes all gone." It was a troubling situation but Q couldn't help but smile at Kathryn's concerns. No matter what their daughter would never be far from her 'home'.

"You do realize the baby can already transport herself along with us around the ship. By the time we get back to Earth she might be able to jump between the Alpha and Delta quadrant with a blink of the eye. She's part Q after all." That was very true, Kathryn hadn't considered her daughters powers and how powerful they would become. "When she's all grown up she will be able to go anywhere she wants, do anything she wants, and be anything she wants. A human starfleet captain, a Klingon warrior, a ship." Q paused furrowing his brow as he thought about human children and their somewhat absurd dreams. Some kids said they would grow up to be the most random things, even silly things like an animal. Once their daughter had control of her powers she would actually be able to fulfill those silly childish dreams. It could become problematic if one day Amelia just decided to become a kitten. "Hmm, we might want to encourage her to at least hold back her imagination a little. Q powers and human imagination, that could become a complicated combination set for disaster." Things Q might have considered before procreating with a mortal, he hadn't actually planed this far ahead. "How have you been doing since coming back on the bridge by the way?"

Kathryn smiled and looked around the ready room. "I don't consider this the bridge. I can't put her down for more than a few minutes though she's getting better about being away from me. Took a three hour nap before she got hungry and woke up. It wouldn't be so bad if all she did was cry when I wasn't around but I think she's gone above and beyond the means of a human child to get attention." Something else Q hadn't considered, an infant with Q powers.

"Uh oh, what did you do?" He looked down at Amelia getting a little closer to her face and causing the baby to instinctively throw her hand at him. Q grabbed his nose and leaned back pretending Amelia had hit him hard and somehow hurt him, making a funny face as he spoke again. "Ouch, you have a strong left hook there little girl."

"She shut down helm control." Janeway sounded a little worried and she had every right to be.

"Well, that's, that's brilliant actually. She's figuring out her abilities quickly. That could be a problem without my abilities." What happened if she made someone vanish? The continuum had to be watching her right?

"As soon as I picked her up she gave the controls back."

Q gently took Amelia away cradling her in one of his arms as she looked back to Janeway. "Well I am going to have to set a good example for you then. Teach you about a little self control when it comes to your abilities. Just because you can Amy doesn't mean you should." He bounced her lightly smiling down at her as she put one of her hands in her mouth and cooed back at him. She was very talkative for a newborn. "And help break you of your clingy attachment to your mother. I promise you I can be just as fun to hang around you know." Q laughed looking back at Kathryn. "Of course then mommy has to learn to trust me with you too."

Putting her hands on her hips she walked over to her desk. "I trust you with her."

"Is that so? You haven't left her alone with anyone for more than a few minutes Kathy. This attachment goes two ways you know." Kathryn wouldn't admit she didn't like having Amelia out of her own line of sight but it was true. "How about I take her down to sickbay with me, she can help the doc and I train in Paris."

Janeway tried protesting his choice to be taking off with their daughter. "She's going to cry."

Q rested the baby against his shoulder holding her head so it wouldn't flop around. "Are you going to cry?"

"No, I'm just telling you she's going to cry because she will miss me."

"It's okay if you miss her, you are her mother. You only want whats best for her and it's okay to experience a little separation anxiety as well. You carried her for seven months, that's a long time to bond with someone but now that she's a separate little entity she can start making new bonds with other people, like daddy for instance." Amelia cooed again almost as if she was trying to but in her two cents. "And yes she will cry but then she will start to get use to being away from you. Maybe then we can prevent her from trying to take control of the ship every time her mother can't come hold her because she wants attention."

Sitting down at her desk she wanted to argue with him but he had a point. It was hard to be a captain with a baby in your arms constantly. "Alright, but just for a few hours."

Rubbing Amelia's back Q smiled again. "You hear that Amy, we get to spend some quality father daughter bonding time. I'm going to teach you how to pick up chicks." Q smiled and looked back at Kathryn as she shot him one of her death glares. "I'm just joking." Resting Amelia back in one of his arms he walked over to Kathy. "Now tell your mother you love her." Amelia cooed again and kicked her legs trying to likely communicate how much she disliked this idea of leaving her moms side. Taking one of her tiny hands Q made her wave at Kathy. "Bye bye." Amelia cooed again making Kathryn smile.

"Just be careful with her please."

"I'm not going to break my own child Kathy, it's alright."

Back in sickbay it had taken a while for Amelia to stop her crying and interfering with the medical equipment in sickbay but once she realized her crying wasn't going to make her mother show up she just stopped. More than anyone the doctor seemed the most interested in her, crowding over her and talking to her in his sad attempt at a baby voice, describing medical procedures to her and he tried to 'train in' Tom Paris. "At this rate Mr. Paris little Amelia here is going to be a better nurse than you. At least she listens to what I'm saying, isn't that right little Amy." The baby scrunched up her brow and cooed before turning her attention back to her father. "So Q, any thought into who her Godparents are going to be? I have researched the old time Earth tradition of assigning godparents to children as a secondary system of guardians to help guide them in their life."

Paris smiled when it was brought up, he pretended he wasn't as interested in it as the doctor was since the doc made it no secret he was actually interested in being a godfather to little Amelia. He had mentioned more than once he was an icon for setting good examples. "Oh yeah, I heard the captain talking about making B'Elanna godmother."

Q let out a little sigh, "We haven't talked about godparents yet. Originally I had thought Kes would have been her godmother but now, well wherever Kes is, I guess that's a little out of the question. I know Kathy had considered Chakotay for a godfather before Amelia was born but I am already set in who her godfather is going to be."

The doctor seemed rather excited, "Who?" He paused, if Kes had been the original choice for godmother then it seemed only right he would be the right choice for the godfather. "Is it me?"

Paris interrupted with a laugh, "You? But, you're just a hologram."

The doc huffed, "Well this just a hologram has saved your life several times Mr. Paris. Just remember that."

"Q and I are buddies, we give each other advice. It's obvious he would pick me as Amelia's godfather." Paris slapped Q on the back feeling like there wasn't even a competition.

"Actually you are both wrong. Jean-Luc Picard is her godfather." Both Paris and the doctor seemed a little let down.

"The starfleet captain Jean-Luc Picard? He's in the alpha quadrant though." Paris reminded Q.

"That makes little difference to me, he's clearly the perfect choice."

The doctor nearly threw down one of his tools and glared at Q. "Kes was going to be her godmother and yet you didn't even consider me for her godfather? I'm hurt, shocked, I'm a perfect choice as well. I'm honest, caring, and I speak over 150 different languages."

Q shrugged his shoulders. "Well, maybe you can be her godmother then." He joked with that villainous smile of his.

"I am appalled." The doctor continued before pausing and looking back at Q. "Do you think the captain would go for that?"

Paris showed off a little smirk somewhat amused the doc would actually settle for godmother. "How about they name you Amelia's official fairy godhologram. There's a first for everything."

"Not funny Mr. Paris." The doctor continued to glare at him. "One more comment like that and I'll slip a tranquilizer into your lunch."

Picking up Amelia Q snuggled her with a smile, it was entertaining to see the two argue with each other over something as little as who the godfather was going to be. "It's really her mothers final say but if I can sway her vote towards Picard that is who her godfather will be. A baby this special, well she deserves a very special godfather." Besides it felt only fair. He had tormented Picard, trained him, helped to mold him into the captain he had become, now it was his turn to repay him. Help him mold his daughter into the person she would become. Spawn of Q, Picards new tormentor. A match made in proverbial heaven.


	28. Nanny of Nine

Amelia over the days had become a little more comfortable being away from her mother, she could stick with Q until she got hungry. At that point there wasn't much the ex omnipotent being could do from there. For the most part she took long naps at sickbay while he was working or went to the ready room to cuddle with her mother. Since spending more time away from Kathryn she even let other people hold her, something thought impossible before. The doctor was the main person interested in interacting with her and of course Sam who always talked about when Naomi was that little. Q had been sleeping soundly next to his captain hoping their little offspring was starting to realize she could sleep the whole night without waking them both, unfortunately that was not going to happen tonight. Amelia woke him up quickly with her whimpering, afraid Kathryn would be disturbed he got up and picked the baby up out of her crib. After all the captain needed sleep more than he did, he just played nurse, Janeway ran the whole damn ship.

Amelia squirmed in his arms a minute as he checked her diaper to be certain she wasn't complaining about that. Q bounced her lightly trying to make her fall back to sleep but Amelia just looked around with wide alert eyes. There was no sneaking around this one, she was up, now so was he. "I'll never understand how you can think it's time to get up in the middle of the night." Q whispered to her as she gnawed on her hand, her eyes looking over to him while he spoke. Amelia let out a little coo, always being such a talkative little squirt. "Okay, but we have to go out in the hall. I don't need you waking up your mother." Amelia cooed again proving more of his point. It was quiet in the hall this late at night, no one was walking around, they were either sleeping or at their posts. Very rarely would someone pass him when he took Amelia out like this and should someone ever come up they often time avoided talking to Q just in case Amelia was on her way back out again. It was somewhat lonely, made him think of the mornings when he walked Kathryn up to the bridge with Amy. Normally their daughter was wide awake in the mornings squirming in his arms and trying to alert him that she wanted to be held by Kathy. It was frustrating when all your words were squeaks and garbles.

Q started instinctively heading for sickbay, his eyes still half shut as Amelia whimpered again to startle him awake, or at least alert. Someone was coming, someone she clearly didn't like. Her little whimpers quickly became a loud cry, thank god they were away from most of the private quarters. Q looked down the hall trying to hush his screaming little girl as a rather chilling figure came marching his way. That Borg, Seven of Nine. What the hell was she doing up this late? Didn't Borg sleep? Of course they didn't they regenerated he reminded himself. Well then, wasn't she suppose to regenerate? "Amy, sssshhhh, it's okay." He spoke softly to the screaming baby as he rocked her, a look of concern and confusion crossed the Borgs face.

"Your offspring appears to be upset." Seven stated with a monotone voice.

"She was fine until you showed up, I think she was even getting tired again." Q sighed and continued to rock her. For a moment Seven glanced down at the baby, a look of mild disgust and yet concern. As if she didn't know what to make of the tiny being more alien to her than anything on this ship.

"Perhaps it requires nutrition." Seven stated with a curt nod of her head.

Q patted Amelia on the back making her quiet down a little but she was still crying. "That's an astute observation, do you have experience in child rearing?" He replied sarcastically but Seven didn't seem to understand his joke.

"No, the Borg do not reproduce, we put immature drones in maturation chambers until they have reached peek efficiency."

"Charming, must beat daycare." Seven turned her head to the side a little pondering what he had just said.

"Does it not require care during the night?" She was baffled by what this 'day care' was implying.

"What?" He was almost yelling over Amelia's cries. "No, daycare is where according to human traditions children are left during the day so their parents can go to work."

"I see." Seven pondered this concept for a moment. "Does your offspring attend, day care?"

"Nope." Q was rather frank about it. "She screams and throws fits if you leave her alone with strangers too long." He paused "And her name is Amelia."

"That seems very inefficient."

"Inefficient, maybe but how could you leave her? Look at that cute face?" Amelia was finally quieting down more as if to prove a point that she was adorable. She was a smart little thing, even being as young as she was she showed understanding. When someone spoke she listened closely and often times reacted to things they said. Brilliant just like her father.

"Irrelevant." Seven replied with her usual cold and empty tone of voice.

"Irrelevant?" He was a little shocked. Here he thought Vulcans were cold. At least Tuvok could admit there was a biological and chemical attachment to children that drove adult individuals to protect them in an attempt to secure the future generations well being. That was his way of saying he found Amelia adorable and would look after her if required, so long as he was not busy. "You have no heart do you. Just look at that face. How could you not love that face?"

Seven raised a brow not certain of what she was suppose to be seeing. All she felt was emptiness looking down at the weaker inferior human. There was nothing miraculous about it. The doctor had mentioned she had some extraordinary capabilities but Seven had yet to witness any of this and questioned if they were as extraordinary as some claimed them to be. "My cardial functions are intact if you have concerns." Q quirked his brow and looked at Seven, the Borg were suppose to be powerful and intelligent. So far they just seemed like a bunch of malfunctioning blenders with a scary voice. Pushing Amelia towards her he figured so long as he was next to Seven there was no harm in the ex Borg holding the little girl. "What are you doing?" She asked backing up a little.

"Here hold out your arms." She did so obediently looking at him with a rather puzzled Borg expression. "Now cradle her head like that, yeah." Q fixed her hands so she wouldn't drop his daughter. Once the baby was in Sevens arms she seemed rather urgent about giving her back.

"I have to finish my mission, I was asked by Ensign Kim to acquire the proper tools in aiding him with the removal to the Borg technology aboard this ship." She moved forward trying to give Amelia back to Q.

"You have all night to do that, just look at her, you have to admit she's really something else."

Seven glanced at the child still wishing to surrender it back to it's parental unit. "I do not understand what you hope to accomplish with this." Q crossed his arms clearly not about to take Amy back so quickly. Seven was starting to feel as if the child had been tasked to her, abandoned almost. Was she the sole provider of this frail useless being now? She looked back down at Amelia, the little girls eyes half closed as she opened her mouth and let out a little yawn. "Your off...Amelia seems to be having trouble breathing." There was a small hint of concern in her voice.

"That's called a yawn Seven. People do that when they are tired. You know, it's funny, the only two people Amelia falls asleep for is myself and the captain. Funny, she seems fairly comfortable with you."

"Is this unusual?" Seven asked a little confused.

Walking back towards Seven he rested his hands on his hips. "Very." She took the opportunity to hand the child back to it's father only feeling comfortable once it was returned. Seven tried walking away looking somewhat bothered by her encounter with the child. "You know, Kes was supposed to be Amelia's godmother before she left Voyager. Maybe you should be her godmother Seven. After all the captain seems to think she can make you human. I found the thing that helped me embrace being human was my family."

Seven stood there looking back at Q, uncertain of how she might respond in this situation. "Godmother? Explain."

Q got a little smile on his face. "Like a guardian, a caretaker when the parents are not around."

"Like an assignment?"

"Sort of, but with a bigger responsibility. A task to look after something bigger than a ship, a task to help guide Amelia as she grows up, the help shape her into the person she will become. To take care of her should something happen to Kathy or I."

Seven raised a brow. "I will, consider this." She nodded her head and started walking away.

Q smiled back at Amelia. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing Amy. Your mother might think I am crazy but trust me. If she wants you to be the best starfleet has to offer one day then Seven and Picard will push you in the right direction."


	29. Happy Holidays

The room was alive with music and the smell of good food, everything Neelix had replicated to make this a perfect Christmas Party. There was even a tall tree with presents sitting underneath it and decorated just like the ones back on Earth. Every year they took this day off to look back and appreciate what they still had and besides, it was Q and Amelia's first Christmas. Naomi was already looking under the tree wondering what gifts belonged to her while Q walked around holding his little girl dressed up in her pretty red dress. Her attention constantly bouncing around the room until she had caught sight of her mother and squirmed around impatiently. "Look who decided to come join the party." He smiled at Kathryn handing their daughter over to her. As per usual it didn't take long for Amelia to become the center of attention, especially with her small shiny black shoes and a pretty little red boy clipped to her darkening locks. She did look a lot like Kathryn but she had inherited her fathers green eyes and dark, almost black hair.

"Oh, you look so cute." Kathryn smiled at her daughter, in only two months Amelia had grown quite a lot. From almost fitting in one of Q's hands to now being about the average size of a newborn. "I see your father even tried getting a bow to stay in your hair." Kathryn laughed as Amelia knocked it out of her hair with her fist. The pretty red bow dropping to the floor at her mothers feet. "I don't think your hair is long enough for that just yet." She looked around the ground trying to find the fallen bow but Q had picked it up before someone stepped on it.

"No, but she has a nice head of hair. I thought it would stay in a little better than it did." It was a little disappointing, he had worked so hard to make her look perfect for today's party. After all it was not only Amelia's first Christmas but the first holiday in general that she was celebrating. It was also suppose to around her original due date but Q was happy she was here now to enjoy the festivities with them. "I studied traditional symbols for your winter solstice celebration on earth and discovered a creature called reindeer are very prevalent. I replicated a little hat for her that had antlers but she's so quick and strong now she managed to get it off her head three times before I finally gave up on it." She didn't appear to have the best motor control yet but she still managed. After all it wasn't rare for Amelia to poke herself in the eye and surprise or even frighten herself from it. Or try to put her fingers in her mouth only to hit her own face and give them that same startled wide eyes look as if they were to blame.

"She's looks just fine as she is Q." The Captain smiled, Amelia letting out a little coo as if to agree with her mother. The corner of her mouth shifting just slightly while she attempted to smile herself but only caused herself to sneeze.

"The fun part was putting antlers on Rowley. He'll be here a little later with something special for Naomi." Q looked rather proud of himself, pulling on her red shirt a little when he brought it up. Grabbing one of Amelia's hands he shook it lightly and tickled her under the chin trying to get her to smile. She made good attempts at it but hadn't figured it out complexly. "I have a surprise for you too Amelia."

Once Neelix had finished glazing the Christmas ham he took a direct path to the captain and little Amelia. "I see our youngest crew member has finally come to join the party." Neelix smiled at her but was clearly careful about getting too close, Amelia was known for crying when others approached her, even if she did know them. "You look so pretty in your little red dress." He complimented her hoping she would tolerate him just long enough. While Neelix worked hard at winning the fussy baby over Seven walked up to them with her usual emotionless expression and cool tone of voice.

"Ensign Q, I wish to inform you I have decide to accept the designation of Godmother for Amelia. I have thought it over and agree it is only logical I act as her guardian in the event her parents are absent." Her expression remained fixed, not changing even a little as she glanced over at the baby who seemed to stare back at her with a look of awe.

"Well, that's good to hear." Q replied having almost forgot about asking her to act as Amelia's godmother.

"Godmother?" Kathryn and Neelix spoke up in perfect tandem. Both equally as shocked that Q had asked for Seven to act as Amelia's godmother.

Turning to the captain he felt his explanation for the situation would prove appropriate. "You wanted to help guide Seven through getting in touch with her human side. I found myself having family eased in my own transition to life as a human. I feel it would be beneficial to both Seven and Amelia." Hopefully he didn't end up sleeping in another room again. The past two months living in Kathryn's quarters had been very comforting. It was nice waking up next to her rather than spooned up against Rowley as he slobbered on his face with sloppy kisses. Not really the person he wanted to be kissed by nor the first thing he wanted to open his eyes to every day. "Besides, Amelia seemed to like her." He added looking back at Seven. "Go ahead Seven, show her. It's a little strange I know but you have to see for yourself."

Seven stood frozen for a while, her hands behind her back as she looked back down at Amelia. She was cautious, not wanting to have to touch the fragile little offspring of Captain Janeway. Hurting the baby would prove to be detrimental to her well being on this ship. Still she moved her hand closer to Amelia, even Neelix seeming to hold his breath for a moment as he awaited the screams that ordinarily followed. Even the Doctor who saw Amelia every day couldn't poke or prod Amelia without the baby bursting into tears and yet here was Seven patting the child lightly on the head and Amelia didn't cry, didn't even fuss around, she just looked back at Seven with a questioning look as if asking why the hell the big scary Borg was patting her on the head. Quickly Seven snapped her hand away and raised a brow, her eyes still fixed on Amelia while the baby pulled at the corner of her mouth showing off a half smile. Seven then looked back to Q and over to Janeway proving her point. "That's, odd." Janeway admitted.

"See, she likes Seven, I don't know why but she does." Maybe it was how calm Seven appeared. She was apprehensive and never sticking her hands or face near Amelia. Their daughter was jumpy, when someone just 'appeared' in her range of sight it set her off. Seven was a little too timid around the baby to 'surprise' her.

Neelix in hopes that Amelia was just getting more comfortable around others reached over to her only to have the baby burst out into tears. "Oh no, Amelia, I didn't mean to frighten you. It's okay." Neelix spoke softly trying to make the baby stop crying but she continued to fuss, her voice getting louder and louder. Janeway and Q were both at work patting her back and rocking her so she would stop crying.

"Silence." Seven barked, her own ears starting to hurt from the baby's shrieking. She hadn't expected ti to work but almost instantly little Amelia was quiet again and looking up at Seven with wide eyes. Even Seven was startled by the child's reaction but deep down inside she felt a little pride knowing she could silence the infant when even her parents couldn't.

"That worked." Q stood back and looked at Seven.

"She appears to be highly intelligent. You coddle her too much, she appears to as Ensign Kim says, have you wrapped around her fingers." Seven nodded mater of factly and started walking away. Damn, well when she was right she was right.

Q looked back at Kathryn and then down at Amelia, so the captain wasn't the only person who had him well trained. "Amelia is that true? Are you playing us for fools?" The baby coed at him making Q laugh a little. "You, well you are worse than I am if that's the case." The party continued to go on, a few more people attempting fate and wanting to hold Amelia only to get a few quiet seconds with her before she was crying and back in Kathryn's arms where she was determined to stay. Naomi as usual showed great interest in the baby and her future playmate, even asking to hold her but because of her young age and Amelia's habit of crying had to settle for sitting beside the captain and just talking to her new friend. Something even Amelia seemed to enjoy as she attempted a smile a few more times. Q was rather busy himself talking to the Doctor, Paris, and Kim. His so called boys club by the captain. The doctor was still bitter about not being named Amelia's godfather but Q insisted if anything the doctor was more of Amelia's uncle than anything. It wasn't enough to make the doctor completely happy but at least he stopped nagging for a while.

Q found himself enjoying this holiday celebration with the crew of Voyager, he had known of this holiday called Christmas before but never put any attempt forward to celebrate it while he had been a Q. There hadn't been a point to it, now there was. Spending time with his friends, his family, and even drinking some wine. When they sat down to enjoy the food Neelix had prepared Q made his way back over to Kathryn freeing her from Amelia so she could get a small break from the baby. The little girl was already tuckered out after all the mingling and didn't even notice when she switched parents. Her little head lulled to one side as drool ran out of the corner of her mouth, that was one hell of a deep sleep. "So after everyone is done eating we get to open presents?" Q asked anxiously like a kid waking up Christmas morning and trying to rush their parents downstairs to reveal their new treasures.

"That is normally how we do things every year." Kathryn responded wondering who was worse, Naomi or him.

"Good, I can't wait to give Naomi and Amelia their gifts." He seemed excited to show off what he had gotten for the girls. "And of course I have something for you as well." He was beaming now, almost shaking.

"For me?"

"Yes, but I can't say what it is." He pointed at her with a big grin on his face. "So don't even bother asking."

"Then I won't ask."

"Good." Q replied and looked down at Amelia giving her a little wink even though she was still completely out of it. "It's been a busy day for her so far. We haven't even gotten to the best part you kido. The party isn't over yet." Q bounced her a little both trying to wake her and yet not in a way that would startle her.

"Just let her sleep for now, you can wake her up when we open gifts up." Not that it would matter if she was awake or not by then. She was still too little to open anything on her own.

"Good, because I intend to find a bow under that tree that will stick to that big head of hers." Q joked and watched as her face twitched at his comment. She may have been sleeping but in that moment his words entered her dreams and turned them into a nightmare. Amelia seemed to appreciate all this ruckus and gathering of people but bows, they could all burn in her special sacred hell.


	30. Q's Favorite Gift

After everyone had eaten it was time to partake in the age old tradition of exchanging gifts. The part of the evening Q had been dying for. As everyone gathered around the tree Q opened the door to the mess hall and called over to the Irish Setter who had been waiting patiently for his master to come get him. He would have let the pup mingle but the prospect of food would have made the otherwise loyal companion jump into peoples laps and give them the guilt look while staring down their meals. Rowley bounced up from his spot and wagged his tail seeing Q again. Finally, the dog was concerned eh had been forgotten. A pair of small antlers were fixed to his head, as much as the dog might have wanted to rip them off and chew them up he couldn't. Not when Q told him to leave them. He would suffer the embarrassment for his master Q.

Q worked quickly to hook up a little sled to Roweleys harness, the silver bells hanging down the dogs side and making a rather beautiful jingle while he walked forward and followed Q into the mess hall. His tail wagging. The sled had a few wrapped packages on it for those close to Q, and of course for the two children of Voyager. He would have replicated more but he didn't have the rations saved up. Especially after something he had made. "Look what I found out in the hallway." Q announced as he trotted beside Rowley who made a b-line for Kathryn, naturally. "It's a Rowleydeer."Naomi just about lost it running up to the dog laughing.

"Rowleydeer, but Rowley is a dog not a deer."

"He's a deer for today, tomorrow he can go back to being a dog." Rowley barked looking back at Naomi and hitting her with a few wet kisses before the child could escape him. It wasn't uncommon for Sam to borrow Rowley for a while so Naomi could play with him, it was always benifical for both though since the baby had been born Rowley was hesitant to leave her. Like a good dog he was always the first on his feet when Amelia made a peep and the first to be next to her crib when she was awake. "And you know what. Rowleydeer just came back from the North Pole, he told me Santa had forgotten a few gifts for under the Christmas Tree. It's hard to get things up here, Space isn't as kind to reindeer but luckily Rowleydeer traverse it with ease." He joked and started pulling packaged off the sled. "First up, Doctor." Q called out looking over to his 'mentor.'

"Me? Oh you didn't have to get me anything." The doctor insisted but he was clearly flattered. He took it with great excitement and opened it up looking it over. It was a coffee mug even though the doctor didn't drink coffee, or anything for that matter. The words on the side of the cup reading 'Worlds best Doctor' and on the other side 'Worlds best Uncle.' "Thoughtful." It wasn't practical but it was thoughtful, he could at least put it on his desk.

"Tom, Kim, you two are up next." Q handed their gifts over with a smile. He had gotten Tom an old world watch. Tom enjoyed vintage things and he was often late so Q figured a watch would be very helpful and appreciated. Kim he had gotten him a PADD with all the best pickup lines from 152 different planets. After all he had noticed the way he looked at Seven. Q was really doing the kid a favor. "Tuvok, and before you act like a Grinch it's from the Captain as well." He nodded his head knowing the Vulcan would not accept a gift from him. "Torres, I got you something as well." He smiled and handed her a gift seeing Tom's eyes shift. Tom didn't have to worry, his gift wasn't going to be as good as Toms. He could still claim the best boyfriend of the day card with her. "Ensign Samantha Wildman. You too." He smiled handing her a wrapped box as well. "Neelix, for you." Q paused looking down at only three boxes left. "Chakotay." Chakotay seemed a little surprised when Q called out his name. "I know I, never liked you much but I think we can put that all behind us. Consider it a token of my friendship."

"Thank you." Chakotay smiled. Whatever Q had gotten him it wouldn't be as good as having the ex Q apologize.

In fact Q had replicated something rather special for him, had had researched Chakotay's people and found a nice little talisman made for luck, just something he wanted Chakotay to have for away missions. Even if he didn't believe in that sort of thing it was sentimental. Two boxes left. "Seven." Q picked up another package. The Borg shifted her eyes around feeling rather uncomfortable about the situation. She hadn't enjoyed the party and was looking forward to being left out from opening gifts. "I remember how, lonely it was at first coming to Voyager, being human. No one really liked me either, so I got you something to make you feel more at home."

Seven took the package a little reluctantly and looked back at Q. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome Seven." Picking up the last package on the sled he handed it over to Kathryn. "And a little something for Amelia. You'll have to open it for her, I hope she likes it." Kathryn pulled the wrapping paper off and opened the box looking down at a small version of a captains uniform. It even had the pins on the collar. "Since she is a future starfleet captain I figured we should start her out young. Get her use to wearing the 'big' pants."

"What about my gift uncle Q." Naomi looked up at him a little disappointed.

"What? Did you think I forgot about you Naomi." Q smiled back at her. "It's right in front of you." He unhooked Rowley from the sled and pushed it forward with a big grin on his face. "I heard Neelix say you have never gone sledding before. On earth it appears to be a necessary ritual during the winter season for children. So got you the best looking sled and set up holodeck one as the biggest winter wonderland for you and your mother to test out after the party."

Naomi smiled back at him wrapping her arms around his legs. "Oh thank you."

"Neelix and your mother can take you for a few spins on it afterwards. Part of her package is your winter clothes to try this baby out. I'm sure it's going to go fast."

"Like warp nine?"

Q smiled again "No, warp 10." Kathryn got that look on her face again, the look she got every time Q brought up lizards, warp 10, her missing children, or Mr. Paris having a crush on her.

"That was very sweet of you Q." She replied looking over at him, sometimes he wondered how he had gotten so lucky and managed to stumble his way to her good graces.

"Well, I still have one more gift to give out. Yours." She had almost forgotten as everyone was unwrapping their own gifts and seeing her crew happy, laughing, that was the best gift a captain could have. Grabbing her free hand he walked her closer to the tree and tried to get everyone's attention. "Listen up you wayward crew. I have a gift for the captain." Q smiled making sure all eyes were on them before he started. "I insisted you didn't give me anything for my first Christmas because you gave me our daughter. I don't think anything will ever be better than that gift, and then you gave me this." He looked at everyone around him. "Friends, family, companions." Rowley wagged his tail happily panting when Q looked at him. "You gave me a life I didn't even know I was missing out on. When I was omnipotent I could do anything, go anywhere, be whoever I wanted to be but I discovered after a few months on Voyager that the things I wanted most were here. It has been a difficult year for me and a difficult few years for you. I said to you once before it can get lonely out here Kathryn, I hope I make it a little less lonely for you now." Snapping his fingers Rowley walked over, a little box hidden in his scarf. Q pulled it out holding it up to her. "You can't imagine how many rations I have been saving to have this thing replicated." He handed it over to her pausing a moment and taking Amelia. "Maybe I should take her first, before you open it." He smiled.

The captain looked at Q then to the small red box in her hand, the look in his eye making her feel a little suspicious about what he might be up to. Finally gathering up the courage she flipped the lid open and stood there completely silent. Inside was a gold banded ring with a rather sizable diamond framed by two smaller ones. "I looked up a few winter animals that are used in your winter solstice celebration. One of them begin penguins. Rather adorable cold loving flightless birds. Did you know they mate for life? Anyways, the male normally presents a female with a pebble, he looks for the best looking pebble on the beach and presents it to her with hopes of gaining her as a mate. If she accepts they will mate for life and raise many chicks throughout their lifetime. It seems humans have a rather similar tradition, and although we already have a chick i was just wanting to know." Q got down on one knee holding Amelia in his arms with a little smile on his face. "Will you marry me Captain Janeway?"

It was all a little much, something she hadn't expected, especially from Q. She seemed a little speechless still just standing there and staring at him. For a minute Q thought she was going to say no, that look on her face suggested she was very torn. He stood back up wrapping an arm around her, holding his breath in fear she was going to walk away. "Yes." That one world light up his whole word. "But you are taking my last name." She joked. Q went to kiss her pausing only when he saw a bright flash above their heads. Mistletoe? That hadn't been there a moment ago. Instantly Q and Janeway's eyes settled on Amelia as she sucked on her fist looking between them as if asking them what they were looking at. "Did she do that?"

"Of course she did." Q laughed. "She's her fathers daughter." He kissed his captain now happy to call her something more than his mate or significant other. Q could call her his fiancee.


	31. The Time Slip

"Back off or I'll snap Captain Janeway's neck like a twig." The dark eyed man growled, a woman down at his feet, her long dark locks covering her face as she struggled to get back to her feet. Stomping down on her shoulder he started crushing her under his boot, his black eyes flickering back up to the crew with a twisted smile on his face. "After all these years Captain Janeway I finally have beaten you, broken you, your friends, your family can stand and watch you die. I have won. How does it feel?" His boot crushed harder into her shoulder making her cry out in pain, her hand slipping across the the floor as she tried reaching out for the phaser he had kicked out of her hand.

"Not while I'm alive." The bridge door slid open, Captain Kathryn Janeway standing there with a phaser riffle in her hands. "Now let her go."

Four metal spikes rose up on his back, his head tilting to the side as the captain took aim at him. "Who are you?" He growled crushing down onto the other captains shoulder. She cried out again trying to get off of her belly, to escape from under his boot but he was far stronger than she was.

"Captain Kathryn Janeway." Janeway kept her eyes fixed on his face, that fire, that rage making him release a little pressure on the captain still struggling beneath his boot.

"Kathryn...Admiral? That's impossible, I killed you thirteen years ago." He looked her over again, she didn't look like the Admiral he had known, she had been old, weak, pathetic. Easy to crush. It had been necessary to accomplish his job, so long as the admiral was alive he could not have harmed the captain. It had been the only 'weak' chain in her armor.

"Not in this timeline." She growled back steeping closer to him with her riffle raised and aimed. This captain was much younger than the admiral he had slain but he could see the resemblance. Those eyes, so full or fire, so full of courage. She had given him that look thirteen years ago before he slid his steel blade through her chest. He had given her no mercy, hadn't spared her any punishment and yet the admiral had never broken, had never showed fear. She just smiled, almost daring him to kill her. His eyes flickered back down to the captain under his boot, everything he hated most in this world, the one he had vowed to destroy. Once so mighty, so strong, so feared now a pathetic pile at his feet. "Let her go." Janeway warned one more time.

The hulking brute of an assassin smiled back at the Admiral...captain. Pulling his boot off 'his' Captain Janeway he kicked her swiftly int eh ribs making the woman roll across the floor coughing hard. Her hands grabbing her side as she moved towards the phaser. Grabbing it she wheezed pulling it to her chest and turning over so he could see her face. Her lip had been busted open, her nose bleeding but that look in her emerald eyes was that of complete hatred. "Gaveris." The darker haired Janeway yelled, she felt like she was coughing up her own blood but it didn't matter. This was their fight, not Kathryn's. "I'm going to kill you."

"You first, Captain Janeway." She moved to fire at him as he aimed his own pahser back at her and pressed the transporter signal on his chest. The dark haired Janeway fired her phaser while he vanished from the bridge. Her shots hitting the walls behind him. Getting up to her feet the wounded Captain Janeway ran to the spot he had been standing, her eyes wild with a burning rage now as she screamed. Her screams in anger quickly turned to tears though as the darker haired captain dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Her body shaking as she tried to catch her breath and fight through the pain of broken ribs. She had failed again, she had failed her admiral, her teacher, her friend.

Kathryn ran down to the lower portion of the bridge and crouched down by the other captain. The darker haired Janeway wasn't much older than her but she still felt her motherly instincts tugging at her as she wrapped her arms around the sobbing captain. Running her hand through the woman's hair Katrhyn rocked her slightly trying to calm her down. "Shhhh, it's alright Amelia. It's alright, I'm here now."

 _Two days ago..._

Janeway was in the ready room watching over her little girl, her engagement ring had been left in the top draw back in her quarters since it was against regulation to wear it on the bridge or in her case, at all. Q was a little bothered by it, having gone out of his way to replicate her a very beautiful ring only to realize she could almost never wear it now. It was still the thought that counted as far as she was concerned. Smiling at Amelia she laughed a little when the baby girl startled herself with her own hiccups. "Oh wow, where did that come from?" She laughed again when Amy let out another hiccup and looked over at her with a look of confusion on her face. "You're alright." She assured the baby watching her jump again at another hiccup. Kathryn furrowed her brow, not that hiccups were life threatening but she could tell they were bothering Amelia. "They will go away." Unless they didn't, now she was just worrying herself.

"Captain, a vessel just appeared at Voyagers starboard side. Looks like it just came out of warp." Chakotay's voice came over the ready rooms com system.

Leaning over Janeway kissed Amelia on the forehead. "I'll be right back sweetheart. Mommy has to go take care of this." Amelia squirmed in place and flailed her arms wildly clearly wanting to go with her mother to the bridge. "You stay here." She smiled back at her daughter hoping on some level Amelia could understand why she couldn't be on the bridge right now. It just wasn't safe. Leaving the ready room she made her way onto the bridge walking over to her seat and sat down. "Bring it on screen." Kathryn ordered as the image flashed up before them.

"Scans are reading shields are down, weapons have been fired but they are powered down now, the hull seems to have taken heavy damage." Paris read over the scans of the ship.

"Life signs?"

"One, it's very faint." He replied turning to her.

"Beam them to sickbay then. Lets see who we have here."

"Wait captain." Tom paused a moment looking over the scans again. "That shuttle, it's starfleet."

Janeway stood up from her seat and looked back at the shuttle again. It didn't look like anything she had seen before. An image of a winged horse painted to it's side with the words Pegasus write under it. "Bring that ship into the shuttle bay. I want you to take a look at the data logs. Commander Chakotay you have the bridge. Walking over to Ensign Kim she gave him a quick order. "Go keep an eye on Amelia, I'll be in sickbay. Lets see who was piloting that shuttle." The trip to sickbay was almost too slow for her. Once she walked through the door to sickbay she could feel the air of confusion surrounding the place though. Q was off to one side watching as the doctor scanned the patient. Janeway had to admit she hadn't expected what she saw on the bed, she was certainly human, her dark locks pulled back into a sloppy bun, locks clinging to her face and sticking to various cuts on her face. She was dressed in an all white uniform with a red undershirt beneath it and red bands on her sleeves and collar. Even her com badge was different, a slimmer gold badge with a silver loop behind the typical Federation symbol. It was when she noticed the pins on the black shoulder patches of her white uniform that Janeway narrowed her eyes. "She's a captain."

The doctor paused looking up at Janeway, a look of shock on his face. "That's not all Captain, I think I know who she is. She's in our database."

"Who?" She could feel a jolt of excitement. Had starfleet found a way to reach them? Had they sent someone out after them? It seemed this captain was dressed differently, her shuttle wasn't one Janeway recognized, and her com badge was certainly different but perhaps uniforms and com badges had changed. Perhaps her shuttle was experimental, created to come after Voyager int eh delta quadrant. It made Janeway hopeful that this was it, they were going home. Yet looking back at the doctor her hope was crushed, something was wrong. He looked concerned.

"She's in our database but I don't know how this can be possible. According to my scans, this woman is Amelia Janeway." Janeway looked back at the captain, she didn't look much younger than herself. She was possibly thirty five, thirty six, maybe even thirty seven. Not much younger than she had been when getting trapped out here in the delta quadrant. Walking over to one of his terminals he entered the information and pulled up Amelia's DNA putting them side by side. "It's an exact copy." He pressed a few buttons and watched as the DNA was overlaid showing a 100% positive match. "But how can this be, I didn't read anything out of the ordinary that would explain time travel."

Pressing her com badge she tried to contact the team that had been sent to the shuttle bay. "Anything to report from the shuttle?"

"No, we can't even open the door." Tom's voice rang back at her. "This thing is shut up tight. Our pilot certainly didn't want anyone getting in here without permission. I would try Open Sesame but I don't think that's going to help."

"Keep trying." Janeway looked back at the doctor. "Can we wake her?"

"I don't see why not. She's stable now, mild concussion but nothing life threatening." Walking over to the side of the bed he loaded a hypospray and pressed it against her neck. Almost instantly the woman's eyes were wide open, her emerald orbs fixed on the ceiling as she moved quickly and rolled off the bed looking like she was ready for a fight. She reached down for where her phaser would have been and was startled to see there was nothing there. The captain was almost frantic looking over at the doctor, she recognized him and upon seeing a friendly face calmed down.

"Dr. Hanson? Why am I back on Voyager? What am I doing here?" She walked over to him, a look of fear in her eyes. Well clearly if this really was Amelia from another time she still knew him and for whatever reason he had picked the name Hanson? "What year is this?" She stepped back looking at his uniform. "Why are you dressed like that?"

Looking down at his attire he figured if she knew him in her time then he was likely reprogrammed to wear the current starfleet uniform. "This is how I am always dressed." The doctor replied and caught Amelia's gaze shift over to Janeway.

The woman looked like she had been struck by a phaser blast as she looked Janeway over, her green eyes widening as her jaw dropped and she stood in silence. For a moment the dark haired captain shook, tears building up in her eyes as she tried to fight them off. Amelia brushed her sleeve over her eyes and looked back at Janeway clearing away the blurriness. "Is it really you? Mom?" Amelia moved forward quickly reaching out to her with a trembling hand. Touching Kathryn on the face she pulled her hand back and bit down on her lip fighting back her tears. "It's really you? Not some trick?" She rushed forward but stopped herself. As much as she wanted to hug the woman she couldn't just attack her without warning. "I'm sorry." She apologized quickly before finally throwing her arms around Captain Janeway and hugging her tight. Amelia took in a few deep breaths and closed her eyes, her tears streaming down over the captains shoulder as she sobbed. "I'm so sorry. Mom." Amelia was shaking, sobbing and refusing to let Janeway go, she held onto her as if her life depended on it. Slowly Janeway put a hand on the woman's back and patted her lightly not really certain what was happening. Why did she had a thirty some year old starfleet captain sobbing on her shoulder?

After a while, and once the woman's tears actually made her shoulder feel damp Janeway grabbed the other captain by the shoulders and pulled her away so she could face her. She studied her face a little noticing she saw a lot of herself in the other woman's face, her chin, her eyes, her nose. Was this really her Amelia? She had to be. Captain Amelia stood a little taller than her mother, clearly having inherited some of her fathers height. She was a beautiful youthful looking woman but that look on her face. That was the look of someone who had suffered greatly, someone who had gone days with no sleep, who had fought battles that changed her life for the worst. It was the look of someone on the edge of a cliff and staring down death. Someone who was afraid, in pain. "Amelia?" Kathryn finally spoke that single name seeing the other woman's eyes light up a little to hear her name coming from the captains lips.

"It's me." Amelia choked fighting back another torrent of tears. "I, I never thought I would see you again. I've missed you so much. I..." She put her hands over her face breaking down again, nearly crawling down the wall and falling to the floor. Janeway had to grab her by the shoulders again to hold her up. Just as she was about to ask what had happened Amelia stopped crying and looked back at the captain, a little smile crossing her face as she brushed away more tears. "Thirteen years ago I saw him murder you." The words hit Janeway, the grim realization of the future Amelia had come from. "He beat you, he tortured you, and he made me watch it all. He made me watch..." She started choking up again grabbing onto the captains arms as if she would fall over. "And then, he ran that blade through your chest...and you looked over at me and..." She looked her mother right in the eye, that picture coming back to her mind. The image of her mother, that defiance still in her eyes after all she had gone through. "You told me." She paused again taking in a deep breath, trying to follow her mothers last request. "Don't be afraid." It was almost like flipping a switch as Amelia went from nearly falling apart to that stern look on her face. The look of a captain who had gone through her fair share of hard times. It was almost surreal have been laughing at her daughter this morning for being afraid of her own hiccups to seeing this woman standing before her now. Was this truly the person her daughter became? Amelia suddenly remembered why she was here, her eyes wide with fear. "My shuttle, Pegasus, where is it?"

"It's in the shuttle bay." Kathryn replied as Amelia pushed past her and paused as she caught sight of Q. "YOU." Amelia growled, her eyes suddenly bright with fire. Walking over to Q she swung her fist hard into his face nearly knocking him to the ground. She hadn't even missed a beat as she knocked him down and stood over him growling. "HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE TO ME NOW." Amelia yelled before Kathryn held her back.

"Amelia." She yelled at the girl. "Stop that." Pulling her away Q stood back up holding the side of his face.

Amelia snapped back pointing at him. "You can go to hell and take the continuum with you." She growled at Q as Kathryn pulled her out of sickbay.

"Amelia that is enough." Kathryn scolded her. Closing the sickbay door behind them she grabbed the woman by the shoulders and stood her in front of her. "That's your father, why did you hit him Amelia? He didn't do anything to you."

Amelia pulled her arms out of the captains grip and glared back at the door. "Not yet he hasn't, and he's not my father, not anymore. I want nothing to do with him. I don't want to see his face ever again, if I see him I'm going to shoot him." She took in a deep breath trying to calm herself down. Clearly she had inherited her mothers temper but hardly her control. What had happened in the future to make her hate Q so much?

"He's mortal, if you shoot him he's going to die."

"Good." She growled back.

"No, not good, he's still your father. No matter what he's done in the future."

Amelia walked away from the door facing the wall on the other side and putting her hand up on her forehead, the other resting on her hip. Even her mannerism's were so much like her own it was almost uncomfortable watching Amelia. "He let you die mother. He could have saved you but he didn't and he was going to let me die too. I begged for him to save you when Gaveris was torturing you. I begged for him to come and stop it, you know he could have but he didn't. And after you were dead and he turned that blood soaked blade to my throat he still didn't come. If it hadn't been for Captain Kim and the doctor I would have been dead. They brought Voyager to my rescue and transported us out of there but it was already too late for you. They couldn't save you, they couldn't bring you back. I tried, I wouldn't let them stop. I stood over you and tried to bring you back but..." She paused turning back to look at Kathryn. "I still had your blood on my hands when he finally showed up, too little too late. He gave me the sob story about how much he loved you, tried to comfort me, told me I had to go on. 'Be brave, it's what she would have wanted.' Liar, hypocrite." Amelia spat the words out staring at the door. "He used you and he used me and as soon as I showed him I wasn't going to be his little tool he had my powers taken away so I couldn't even stop Gaveris." She huffed. "He never loved either one of us."

"That's not true." Kathryn was a little surprised to hear it seemed Q had his powers still in Amelia's timeline, or perhaps at some point he was given them back. "He loves you." She couldn't speak for what had happened during the event of her death in the future but she knew it had impacted Amelia greatly. Knowing the continuum if Q had gotten his powers back then they had stopped him from making a rescue and if Q still cared about her then like he did now then he might have been suffering alone just as Amelia was. "You mentioned you needed to see Pegasus? Your shuttle." Janeway tried changing the subject.

Now that Amelia had cooled off she remembered why she was here. "Yes, Gaveris, he had created a time slip in space. I followed him through in my shuttle to stop him. I had fired at him, hoping I would stop him before he reached his destination." Amelia grabbed Janeway's arm and started leading her along Voyagers halls. Clearly the girl knew the ship well as she didn't even pause to look around. It made her wonder if Amelia grew up on Voyager, when they would make it back to earth. Clearly they had as Amelia was a starfleet captain and wearing a more modernized uniform.

"Gaveris, he's the one who killed me. Why would he come back in time if I'm already dead in your timeline?" Kathryn followed close behind.

"Because, you were not his target. I am." She paused walking towards the turbo lift. "Fifteen years ago I became a captain, almost right out of academy. They said it was the first time since Captain Kirk that someone took command of a ship so young. I wanted to take on Voyager right out of the gate but I ended up captaining the ship USS Falcon. While I was captain of Falcon you sent me out on an easy mission or at least it would have been if not for Gaveris and his men. They destroyed two starfleet ships, hired mercenaries, assassins hired to bring down the Federation. It might have done just that as well, two of their operatives were already positioned in Starfleet, their goal to kill the admirals and destroy starfleet command. I caught wind of the plot, I turned in the information and my mother Admiral Janeway, you, you caught the undercover assassins. It went deeper than that, there was some corruption in starfleet, we started to weed it out and in the process I took out most of Gaveris men. It felt nice at first, being a big hero, a few other captains and myself got a big parade, starfleet named me captain of Voyager even as a reward. It had been my lifetime dream to captain Voyager. I think I cried a little the first time I walked out on the bridge and they called me Captain. It just wasn't the same on Falcon." Amelia paused, a smile stretching across her face. "But that didn't matter, Gaveris wanted revenge, he wanted me dead and he's sworn to do everything possible to do so."

She could understand someone being upset that his men were hunted down and he had lost but why the focused hatred on Amelia? It sounded as though more than just Amelia had beaten him. "But why you? Why not the other captains? Why not the admirals, why not me?"

Amelia exited the turbo lift and stopped looking back at her mother, a serious look caught on her face. "Because I did something I shouldn't have. I regret it every day of my life, it was a mistake but one I had to make to protect the people I love most." She pulled a little smile across her face. "You raised me well, a little too well, be honest, be kind, be good, be compassionate, be brave, strong, I made you proud, constantly proud. I admit there were a few years in my youth I think you wanted to just throw me in a pit and seal it shut but in the end I did EVERYTHING according to your book. Why would I? I looked up to you every second of every day but the one thing you swore for me to promise was to never use my powers to hurt ANYONE. I admit I used them for fun, like party tricks but never to advance myself in starfleet or try to appear better than others and I would NEVER have used them to hurt someone, only help if I saw there was no other way. I used them sparingly, I felt that doing something honestly even if it was harder was the right way. Snapping your fingers can't fix everything, dad told me that." Kathryn found herself smiling with a sense of pride. It seemed she had raised a good woman. "We thought we had gotten most of them from the inside, the others were scattered with Gaveris. No one saw it coming, you were giving a speech about the heroics of the three captains, Captain Harry Kim, Captain Benjamin Riker, and myself. I think I noticed him first, an Ensign in the crowd, I had gone to academy with him. I remember seeing him once. It happened so fast no one had time to react but I reacted. It was like all those games of velocity we always use to play when I was growing up on Voyager. You completely destroyed me every time, for years, you never let me win anything. I always had to earn it and then one year I think even you were surprised when my reactions just got faster and faster and even you couldn't beat me. Like I could see things happen before they happened and react before they even made the first move. I pulled my phaser out and without blinking he was gone. It's not like it was the first time I killed someone but I remember he looked at me and I knew what I had done. He was just a kid, likely just graduated academy, had his whole life ahead of him and I ended it right then and there without blinking."

Amelia paused. "That kid was only doing what I did every day, trying to make his father proud of him."

"The boy, he was..." Kathryn tried to ask but was cut off.

"Gaveris's son, and I blew daddy's little boy away." Amelia motioned as if firing at him again. "I destroyed Gaveris's world so it was only fair he destroyed mine." Had she never shot that kid her mother would have been alive now back in her time. "I never used my powers because there are more practical ways to solve a problem. Sometimes it really is just as simple as snapping your fingers. Snapping someone out of harms way, making a weapon malfunction, making an attacker materialize into a holding cell. I guess you and dad were wrong after all." They walked into the hanger bay together as Amelia looked over at Pegasus. She had seen better days but she was still a lovely shuttle. "For 15 years I have been running, fighting, surviving. My crew under constant danger, everyone around me being killed off. He thought by killing you I would be crippled but he had been so wrong. He thought I was a monster the day I murdered his son, ha, not even close. He saw the real monster the day he spilled your blood and he's afraid now. He knows he can't beat me as I am. He's made me unstoppable, he's made the prey into the hunter. He had to come back to a time before I could defend myself."

Kathryn paused looking back at Amelia feeling fear sink into her stomach. "He came to kill Amelia, my Amelia." Pressing on her com badge, "Ensign Kim, are you with Amelia?"

"Yup, she's just fine too." Janeway let out a little sigh, just because she was safe now didn't mean it would last.

"Don't worry mom, if I can look at my data collected from Pegasus I can figure out if I destroyed him or where in the time slip he exited." Tom was standing outside the ship still trying to figure out the door controls.

"Captain." Tom spoke up before his eyes shifted over to Amelia. "Well, hello there." He raised a brow and tried to put on his seductive tone. Amelia placed her hands on her hips and looked Tom Paris over before bursting out laughing.

"Tom Paris, the one and only? Good to see you Tom. You certainly look, better." Amelia turned back to her mother and shook her head.

"Do I know you?" He asked a little worried she might be someone from academy he had forgotten about.

"I would say so, you trained me as a pilot." Amelia smiled. "And I was only married to your son for almost ten years." Paris looked very confused right now. "Captain Amelia Janeway. I would ask you how he was doing but he's not even born yet is he." Amelia showed a little blush to her cheek as she pulled her arms behind her back. "Well maybe...if I can figure out how to get back home I can try to make it up to him."

"Amelia Janeway as in..." Tom spoke up only to be interrupted.

"Yes, and Pegasus is my baby." She spoke up looking at the shuttle. "Pegasus, this is Captain Janeway." She paused looking over at Tom a moment. "Open Sesame." She felt a little embarrassed saying those words.

"That actually works?" He looked at her with a stunned expression on his face.

"Chief Engineer Thomas Paris programmed Pegasus's AI." She rolled her eyes clearly not amused but she was stuck with it. "Admiral...I mean, Captain Janeway." Amelia had a hard time calling her mother Captain, most of her childhood she had known her as an Admiral. "I can help Cap...Comma...Tom Paris with Pegasus, you go back to your daughter and keep an eye on her. If Gaveris is still alive she;s his priority and trust me Captain he will come for her, for me."


	32. Pegasus

Captain Amelia Janeway marched up the ramp onto Pegasus, the inside was surprisingly spacious for how sleek it had looked from the outside. "Welcome back Captain Janeway, system update, shield power is at fifteen percent, weapon systems are offline, life support systems are functional, warp drive is offline, guidance systems are offline..." A male voice spoke over the intercom system.

"Pegasus, could you please bring up all the data you collected while we were in the time slip?" Amelia walked over to her seat and sat down looking over the control systems to make sure Pegasus wasn't too badly damaged. If Gaveris was still alive then Pegasus was the best bet to destroying him and his ship. Tom sat down in the chair next to her making Amelia smile again. "It's funny, that's where he usually sat before..." Amelia switched through channels looking for the data she needed. "Damn, Pegasus really got beaten up in that time slip." Turning around in her chair she looked at the back. "Tom, can you get the repair kit in the back."

"So..." He spoke up walking to the back to get the repair kit. "Was that uh, his voice?"

"Lieutenant Paris? Yes, he and I worked on Pegasus together, he programmed a lot of her AI. It use to be my voice but after the divorce, before he transferred to another ship he reprogrammed it to his own voice in case I missed him" She smiled a little, he had been right. Their marriage had been over but she still loved him. Unfortunately she was a captain a captain much like her own mother and sometimes you had to give up the people you loved, sacrifice your own happiness to do your duty.

"So, he's a lieutenant. You two have any...well am I a grandpa?" Tom furrowed his brow bringing the repair kit back up to her a little curious.

Amelia laughed checking over a few more of the systems on her shuttle. "Absolutely not." She grabbed the tools from him and dropped down bellow the console opening up one of the panels so she could get inside and make the needed repairs. She certainly was a beautiful woman, props to his future kid for catching himself a looker. "Not that I didn't want to mind you, I thought about it, I think we both did on some level but well, there are just too many complications that could arise from it. You do realize I'm not entirely human don't you? I'm half Q, there was a time before I lost my powers that I was all powerful, I didn't age, I might have lived an eternity like all the other Q's. We just didn't know if the continuum would 'appreciate' me having children. They certainly had their hands full with me. Could you imagine more like me?"

"I can see why, I know you as a baby and you are already pretty powerful."

"Yes, now imagine if you had a grandchild or two with even half the power I have, and trust me Tom you haven't seen anything yet. I felt bad for the Admiral, Captain. After everything she had to deal with or more so going to deal with."

"I can imagine." Paris laughed, two months old and Amelia was already a handful. "Well you don't seem to have your powers now. If you get this Gaveris guy and go back to your timeline what will you do then?"

Amelia stopped what she was doing sliding out from under the consul and propped herself up on her side. "Honestly? I think after everything I have gone through these past fifteen years I am going to march up to Thomas and apologize, for everything. He doesn't have to ever want to be apart of my life again but if he did I would like to live a normal life with him. As normal as a starfleet captains life can be. Who knows Tom, grandchildren could be in your future after all, just don't count on it. Not after what I did to him." She grabbed another tool from her repair kit and went back under.

"So, who's his mother? Thomas's I mean?" He was prying, clearly trying to see how serious his relationship with Torres might become.

"Nope, I can't tell you that. I have already created damage to the timeline enough. Any more than that and I might not even be a captain when I go home, there might not even be a Thomas to make up with. Since he hasn't been born yet I can't risk it. I hope you understand that." She continued to work on her repairs.

"I understand." He went quiet again for a while. As much as Tom wanted to know everything he guessed all his questions would not get an answer. "How did you two meet? Did you grow up together on Voyager?"

"Yes and no, we didn't grow up together on Voyager. I grew up on Voyager for the most part. He came much later." She paused.

"How much later?" Again he was asking questions she couldn't give exact answers to.

Sliding out she looked up at him. "Just...later. I'm fifty two years old."

Tom was rather surprised by her age. "Wow, well, you look great for fifty two. You hardly look thirty."

"Thanks, I guess. As I said I didn't age as a Q, not after a certain point. I only started aging again about thirteen years ago after I lost my powers. As for where I met him, it was here on Falcon, the ship I first captained. I took him under YOUR recommendation. After all you and my mother were good friends, I trusted you. I just didn't know your son had inherited your charm with women. I couldn't stand him at first, honestly I was going to throw him off my ship and leave him stranded in the middle of a black hole. I cursed the day I took him on but things started to change. We started getting along, he earned my trust, my respect, and then we really started to get along. He asked me to marry him at a reunion for everyone who had gotten lost in the delta quadrant. I think my mother Admiral Janeway just about fainted." Amelia started laughing thinking back on her happier memories, before everything went to hell. "Thomas was so nervous he started speaking Klingon." She paused realizing she had let a little too much slip. "That's all behind me now, back when things were better, before I had a target on my back."

"You sound like you really loved him. So why did you leave him?" It was funny, he had asked her that same question only he had been much older when he asked it, and he hadn't been a captain anymore either.

"I did, but after my mothers death, Gaveris wants me dead, he will stop at nothing to break me down, to hurt me. The only way he can get to me is by going through those I love most. I did the only thing I could to protect him. I broke his heart to save his life. I made him hate me so he would stay away from me. I told you the same thing once already after you asked that question. As a captain who loves her crew I have to do everything within my power to keep them all safe, even if it means I break their heart."

"Funny, you sound just like..."

"Your mother." Amelia interrupted. "Yes you said that to me already. I'm told almost every day I am just like her. I live in her shadow trying desperately to become as impossible as she was but I just don't know how. I try every day to be her, to think like her, act like her, look back on the choices she made and measure them up to my own."

"Then you should stop, trust me. I use to be just like you. Tried to live up to my father, to be more like him. The more i tried the more I failed. It wasn't until I stopped trying to be him and started being me that I realized I wasn't living in his shadow anymore. I was becoming my own person."

Amelia smiled again, he didn't know just yet but he had said those words to her as well. Captain Amelia Janeway was NOT Captain Kathryn Janeway nor was she Admiral Janeway. "She's fixed." Rolling out from under the consul she looked back at the data on the screen and moved through it trying to find out what had happened to her shuttle and more importantly if she had destroyed Gaveris. "I figured, the rift he had opened was unstable, it nearly ripped my shuttle apart, with any luck it damaged his ship just as much." Amelia sat back in her chair letting out a sigh.

"What is it?" He asked looking over the data.

"He made it to the other side, he's alive." She put her hand to her forehead and leaned over her seat. "It's never easy, I had him, I had him right there and I missed." Amelia stood up, this wasn't over yet, she could rest until Gaveris was dead. "Tell my mother to put the ships sensors on max rang. He's out there, waiting to strike when we are least expecting."

"Where are you going?"

Amelia spun on her heels looking at him. "Wash up, change into something that doesn't have phaser burns on it, maybe get something to eat. After that. I guess I'm going to say hello to myself." Amelia shrugged. Hopefully her rank as captain still counted on Voyager, she needed this ship to save herself and maybe even her mother.

Captain Janeway sat in her quarters with baby Amelia trying to get her to fall asleep. It was nerve racking knowing someone could be out there looking to kill her. After all, her Amelia had done nothing. There was a buzz at her door, she expected a member of her crew come to give her an update on the current situation. "Come in." She spoke up turning as the door slid open and Captain Amelia stood there. It took her aback a little, the other captain had changed into a captains uniform just like her own. For a moment Janeway felt like she was looking into a mirror, it was a little startling how much Amelia grew up to resemble her. She even had her hair pulled back the same way she use to until realizing they were going to be stuck in the delta quadrant longer than expected and didn't have to follow all the starfleet dress code. "Amelia."

"Hello mother." She smiled back at the woman who really was younger than herself and yet Amelia still looked up to her. "I hope you don't mind I am trying to blend in with your crew a little. My uniform was damaged badly in the battle with Gaveris. Besides it makes me stand out, that's just what he wants."

"No, you look nice. It suites you." Janeway replied looking at her again. If this was who Amelia grew up to become then Kathryn could be proud. Her daughter was every bit the captain she had dreamed she would become.

"Thanks." Her eyes shifted over to the baby in her mothers arms making her want to back out of the room. Even though Amelia knew she was 'here', well and alive she hadn't considered how she would feel to meet her younger self. As a cadet in starfleet she had always considered what it would be like to meet her younger self. Of course she always pictured herself at seven to ten years of age, not as a baby. "So that's...that's me?" She stepped forward looking down at herself and having a strange feeling looking over that face, her face. "I didn't know I was ever that small." She nodded her head not certain what to think, how to feel. Once you became a captain you forgot those days when you were little and frail. You forgot you started out as a baby like everyone else, more than anything it made Amelia feel regret. She was what that baby had to look forward to, a lonely life where she thought all she ever needed was her mother to guide her. A lonely life, a miserable life, a life where she had pushed everyone away, everyone she loved gone.

"You were smaller." Janeway smiled back at her daughter trying to imagine everything Amelia had experienced in her life. She caught her older daughter looking at her again, a little smile crossing her face once more.

"I remember you just like this. Back when you still had long hair, you always put it up like that. I remember looking up at you when I was only a little ankle bitter. You never really changed. Seeing you now like this, after having known you much latter you never really aged. You were still very intimidating, very strong, very vibrant. Your hair went grey certainly, you got wrinkles but you didn't change. After you died, after the continuum took away my powers I started facing my own mortality and it frightened me. I'm not afraid anymore." Amelia looked back down at her smaller self, young Amelia, her whole life ahead of her, all her adventures. Even though she feared destroying her own timeline she hoped at the very least when she left to go home she could change it just enough to save her from going through the hell she had known.

"I can't say the same, you have changed a lot." Janeway smiled at her.

"I did, I got really tall and twice as stubborn." She joked looking around the captains room. "I have a lot of fond memories on this ship, the way it is now. My Voyager looks a lot different, she was upgraded several times to keep up with new technology." Amelia pointed over at the crib and walked over quickly picking up the small stuffed puppy Q had gotten for her after she was born. "Puppy. He looks so...new. I took this stupid thing everywhere with me, if he got left behind anywhere I would cry and cry. I think you wanted to just throw him away after a while he was so dirty and beaten up. Our dog Chicago finally tore him to pieces after I went to the academy. We had a funeral for him since he had been with us for so long." She laughed looking over at Rowley. "Rowley." Amelia called over to the dog and got down on her knees as the dog perked up his ears and looked at her. "Look at you, you are so young." She hugged him as he walked over to her, running her hands through his long red fur. She looked up at Janeway feeling like a little girl again but reminding herself why she was here. Amelia stood back up and straightened out her uniform. "I almost forgot. Gaveris made it, he's here, somewhere." Janeway showed a flicker of fear in her eyes as she held baby Amelia a little closer. "I'm not going to let him hurt her. He's haunted me long enough, I don't want to remember this far back in my life. He's taken away enough years as it is." She nodded at Kathryn.

"I'm sorry." Janeway paused looking at her, still seeing that flicker of pain in Amelia's eyes. it was hard for her daughter to be around her, she could tell. If Janeway had been in her position, if it had been Amelia that had died she would have felt the same way. "I'm sorry you had to see me die like that Amelia." The dark haired captain tried to hide that look of sadness on her face but it wasn't working. "But I'm happy you survived."

Amelia forced a smile on her face. "Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."

"No, I'm happy you survived because had it been the other way around I know I wouldn't forgive myself. As a parent you know your children will outlive you, that's the nature of it. It's when your child dies before you that you have truly failed. You are my legacy. Even though your past is my future I know as your mother I would have brought you up to survive this world without me, and I trust that I have done a good job of it. You can do this."

Amelia bit her lip and looked away keeping on her brave face but Janeways words had meant a lot to her. "Thank you mother, I won't disappoint you a second time."


	33. Like Father Like Daughter

Kathryn walked into her ready room seeing Q cuddling Amelia on the sofa. The little baby was trying to smile at her father as he sat up and tickled her belly. She brought a smile to his face, every second he spent with her was worth a million lifetimes and yet he couldn't shake the sickening dark feeling that had struck him since Captain Amelia Janeway arrived on the ship. "I thought I left Tuvok in charge of her." Kathryn looked for the Vulcan but he was no where to be found. She had trusted him to guard Amelia until this assassin was found and dealt with.

"It's alright Kathy, I'm looking after her right now." Q smiled at at his lovely fiancee. "Daddy won't ever let anything happen to you." He paused letting Amelia's words sink in. He hadn't meant to ease drop on the conversation but after she had attacked him, looked at him with such hatred in her eyes he had to know. He had to know why his daughter had grown up to loath him. "I promise Amelia, I promise I won't let anyone ever hurt you, or your mother." He spoke to the baby hoping she understood every word of it. Whatever future Captain Amelia remembered she wouldn't go back to it. She was going back to a world where her father, where Q had done something. Damn the continuum, if they tried to stop him. This baby girl and that woman standing there with her hands on her hips watching him, they meant more to him than unlimited power and immortality. What was immortality without his two favorite girls? Leaning forward he kissed baby Amelia on her cheek and smiled as she reached up for him.

"Are you alright?" Kathryn asked. "You have been avoiding Amelia, I mean the other one." She had to specify since Q had been spending even more time than usual with baby Amelia.

Q shrugged. "Can you blame me? Yesterday when she saw me she practically had venom dripping from her fangs. I never expected her to hit so hard either, she looks like such a charming girl." Q could still feel the pain in his jaw even after the doctor had treated him. "I, I heard what she said Kathy, about what I did. That's not me, you know that's not me and though I'll make no excuses for myself, the version of me she knows I would rather die than let that happen. You know that." He looked at her holding back his own feelings over the situation.

"I know." She agreed, it wouldn't be like him to just abandon Amelia but that was why he had to tell the girl. He had to tell her what he had just said here. "You love her."

Q looked back at his baby girl grabbing one of her hands and holding it lightly in his own. "More than I could ever imagine, and it's because I love her that I want this Gaveris to pay for what he did to her. She may be a big girl, she may not be my little baby anymore but she's still my daughter. All grown up and hits hard but still Amelia is my little girl and what that monster made her go through." He paused taking in a deep breath. "I hate him for it."

"You should talk to her." Kathryn urged him to speak to Amelia, even if she had been bitter towards him he was still her father. "She needs you Q. You are still her father, no matter how she feels about you."

Q looked back down at baby Amelia. "But this one is so much easier to deal with, and she doesn't hit as hard." He poked her nose making her flail her arms excitedly. "But you are right, I have just been trying to avoid it. In the future you are dead, that must be difficult to face but in the future...I let you die. For me, that's impossible to face."

"The future isn't set in stone Q, it can be changed." She reminded him, as a Q he of all people understood that. Amelia's future, that didn't have to be their future and he would make certain of it.

Letting go of Amelia's hand he stood up watching her carefully so she didn't roll off the sofa. "Is she still in the shuttle bay fixing Pegasus?" Janeway nodded her head as Q conjured up the courage he would need. "Alright." Walking over to Kathryn he kissed her on the cheek and gave her a quick hug. "Any advice?"

"This time consider ducking." She smiled. It was sound advice, just not the sort he had been looking for.

"Fair enough."

Amelia was inside Pegasus, panels pulled off the insides as she tried to get the shields fully operational. "Shields offline, weapons offline." The male voice spoke up as she switched over one of the circuits.

Slapping the board Amelia growled at it. "I know Pegasus, I shut them off." She rolled her eyes at the shuttle, YES, AT the shuttle. "You know Pegasus, I wish Thomas was here."

"Me too." the male voice responded making Amelia crack a smile.

"I know you do, if he was here you would be repaired already. He takes after his mother you know...maybe I should have her take a look at you if she is as good as he says she was."

"Fathers mother, what does that make her?"

Amelia paused a moment, it was a little weird that her only 'child' with her ex was a talking thinking shuttle. So they hadn't had a traditional marriage and a traditional family but they both put a lot of love into this shuttle and perhaps took part in a lot of love when they shut the AI down for the night. "Grandmother?" Amelia shrugged.

Q walked up the ramp into the shuttle, his hands held behind his back as he paused looking over at Amelia. "Captain Janeway, you have a guest." Amelia looked up from the panels and instantly became hostile.

Standing up she dropped one of her tools to the ground rolling up the sleeves of her blueish grey undershirt. "I thought I told you to stay away from me."

"Believe me you did, you made it abundantly clear you wanted nothing to do with me but if you are my daughter then you know by now I don't listen to anyone." Q argued with her. She seemed to be just as stubborn as her mother but if this Amelia was his child then he was as much like him as she was like Kathryn. Q looked at her a little closer, narrowing his eyes as he studied her. "hmm."

"Hmm what?" Amelia growled.

"Nothing, I'm just trying to see if you look like Chakotay at all." He narrowed his eyes again as Amelia shook her head not at all pleased by his comment.

"I'm clearly your's by blood if you can call it blood. I would show you what I inherited from you but you convinced the continuum to take away my powers after you let my mother die. To be honest I think you were afraid of me."

"I can see why, you are certainly your mothers daughter, but you are also mine." He reminded her and crossed his arms.

"Chakotay, isn't that the name of the man mother married after you?" Q looked shocked and a little concerned, his heart racing when he found out Kathryn fell for that Neanderthal. Then just like that Amelia turned to him, a hint of mischief in her eyes. Touche little Q, touche.

"So, you are my daughter then. Good to see you inherited my gift for mischief." He paused. "In the future, were we still together?"

"Don't talk about mom." Amelia warned him. She didn't want to talk to him about her mother, he didn't deserve to know. Amelia walked over to her seat and sat down crossing her arms, her back turned to Q now.

Walking up behind her Q pulled out the little stuffed doggy he had given to Amelia as a baby, not the exact one since he couldn't take Amelia's puppy without her throwing a fit but it was a perfect replica. Pressing it's nose against her face he made a whimpering sound before tossing it onto the controls. "Your mother told me some dog ate it." Amelia didn't move, she didn't speak, she just continued to sit their quietly. "You must not have remembered I gave that to you the night you were born. I must have sat there with you all night watching over you, afraid that if I walked away or closed my eyes something was going to happen to you. I must have almost fallen asleep standing up thirteen times. I was afraid you would stop breathing again, and I just kept saying over and over again how happy I was to have you in my life." Amelia slowly reached over grabbing the little stuffed dog and looking it over. It brought back all her happy memories.

"You two were still together when she died." Amelia paused. "In case you wanted to know." She hugged the puppy close to her chest resting her chin on the top of it's head. "That's what made it so much worse, you pretended to love her, to love me...you still let it happen." She turned around, that look in her eyes making him hurt more than the hate she had felt for him. It was a look of someone who had been betrayed by someone they loved.

"No." Q shook his head. "I may not have been able to save her, to come help you but pretend to love you, no." He wasn't from her time so he could not say what had prevented him from saving them. Even if the continuum, had said no he would have ignored them and risked execution to save Janeway and his daughter. Would they have locked him away to keep him from saving his family? But why? There were so many questions, all he could do now was insure that never happened. "I love you Amelia, more than you can ever imagine and your mother, I don't have words for how I feel about her. You two are my world, my reason for living. You two showed me what love was, something so simple and yet so powerful. I didn't think it existed, that it was only simple chemical reactions but the first time I saw your mother, the first time I held you in my arms, I knew love was very real."

"Then why is my mother dead?"

Q let his shoulders slump, he didn't have the answers for her. "Because I failed her, not you, I was the one who failed and I won't fail again." Amelia looked up from the stuffed dog, her fingers picking at it's face. "She meant the world to you didn't she. She means the world to me too and looking at you I can see a lot of her in you." Q paused. "You might hate me for what happened Amelia, and I don't know how I will change the future for you other than to do my best to keep her safe." He paused. "And you." He patted her shoulder before turning to leave.

Amelia turned around in her chair holding the stuffed dog in her arms and placing it down on the chair beside her. "When I was a little girl, you use to sing me this song to help me sleep at night. Whenever I felt lonely or afraid, even as an adult I sang that song to myself. It made me feel comforted. It got me through some of the worst fights I have ever seen, it helped me when members of my crew died, when I fought the Borg. I sang it to myself while they beat her, I sang it to myself in sickbay after Voyager rescued me and then you showed up and put your arms around me like I was a little girl again...and you sang it to me." Amelia quickly brushed her sleeve over her eyes. "I spent thirteen years of my life angry at you, I couldn't forgive you for not saving her but I knew you loved us both. I just couldn't understand why. Why someone who claimed to love us as much as you did couldn't help us. I was so angry with you I wanted you to suffer as much as I had but you did. Thirteen years I have wanted to scream at you, I have wanted to put you in her place."

"If I could have traded places with her I would, I will if th..."

"I forgive you." Amelia looked back at the controls. "And when I get home, we are going to get mom back together. Everyone says I am my mothers daughter but they fail to understand I'm not. I'm my fathers daughter, I was never that good at following the rules either."


	34. Captain Janeway, Singing Off

_Present Time..._

Captain Amelia was rushed into sickbay with three broken ribs and one crushed vertebra. Gaveris had done quite a number on her, his revenge had almost been complete but he hadn't expected one thing. Captain Kathryn Janeway. Just when he got her out of the way in Amelia's future she was still here in the past to ruin his plot once more. Amelia was laid out on the biobed as Captain Kathryn walked into the room. "Q, Amelia's safe, he didn't find her." She put the phaser riffle down and moved over to Amelia as the doctor tried to treat her. "How is the captain doing?"

"The Captain, she's lucky you beamed her here. If you moved her around anymore she might have died. How she managed to stand and walk is beyond me. Her femur was fractured and one of her lungs was at risk of collapsing. Dare I say it, I think she had a higher pain tolerance than you do Captain."

"Much more reckless, I told her not to engage Gaveris alone."

The woman on the biobed came to, she tried to push herself up but stopped when the sharp pain returned in her side. "I have to face him alone, he's killed you once he'll do it again and as mighty and as noble as you may think you are mother .You. If I don't have you I will never become the captain I am today." She laid back on the biobed, her head flopping to one side.

"You need to stay calm, you are still..."

"I heard you the first time Doctor, but believe me when I say I have been worse. All I need to be able to do is sit and move may arms. Tell me doctor, can I do that?"

"Yes but, NO, I'm not letting you leave sickbay. Your going to die if you stay in this condition for much longer."

Amelia nodded her head. "And if I stay here he's going to kill me, the smaller me. If that happens I won't ever be sitting here on this biobed asking you to let me leave. He's back on his shuttle, Pegasus can blow him to hell. Once I get back you can restrain me to the bed if you want. I won't argue, and don't even think you will pull the card that if a doctor thinks a captain is unfit to captain he can pull their rank because today isn't the day to bring that up. I'll shoot me, and trust me my phaser will hurt you." The doctor opened and closed his mouth looking at her and then back to his captain. Was this the captain he served in the future? What were they barbarians? Well if Amelia was ever going to win him favor over she was going to have to try being less of a pain than her mother, not more.

"I don't know how you nor Starfleet operates in the future but with that attitude missy I am surprised you got anywhere."

Amelia smiled, she had always loved his spunk. "In my time we are best friends. It's just that you have given me this speech hundreds of times before, or you will. And every time I come back." Sitting back up she groaned and leaned over a little. "Only, normally you give me something for the pain so I can carry on." The doc glared at her not wanting to 'follow' her suggestions. If it prevented her from going on a suicide mission then it would be for her own good. "Doc, please, I'm leaving this sickbay no matter what. I would prefer to at least not feel like hell when I do."

He rolled his eyes at her before loading one of the hyposprays and pressing it against her neck. "This should last for a little while, don't expect to be running or fighting anytime soon. Pain killers don't fix broken ribs."

Slowly Amelia put her legs over the side of the biobed and slid down catching herself on Q's arm. "Mom." She looked up at Kathryn Janeway reaching out for her. It was haunting, as grown up as she may have been now Kathryn still saw that innocent little girl reaching up for her. Amelia wrapped one of her arms around Q's neck and smiled as her mother took her other arm and wrapped it around her neck. "This brings me back, just like my first day going to academy. My parents walked me to my ride then too." Kathryn and Q helped their grown daughter walk down to the shuttle bay. It was funny, when they had walked her to her ride to the academy she had felt like that would be the last time she would see them too. In that case it hadn't been true, this case, well.

Tom was still working on repairs inside Pegasus when Amelia came limping through the door. "Tom, she's good enough as she is. That will have to do." Amelia called over to him as he stepped down the shuttles ramp. "Thank you." The three of them stopped outside the shuttle as Amelia looked up to Tom, "Many years from now, when you have a son and he says he doesn't want to join starfleet academy, you tell him there is one hell of a captain who needs him on her ship and then when that captain thinks you are all insane for trying to put him on her ship you tell her he's one hell of an engineer and pilot and she won't get anyone better, that she is going to need him. Trust me, she'll believe you." Turning to Janeway Amelia took her arm off of Q and hugged the captain. "And mom, let yourself smile a little more." Janeway smiled at her, that smile Amelia remembered from her childhood, that smile her mother had when she graduated the academy, when she became a captain. "See." Turning back to Q she put her arm around him again and leaned her weight against him. "Father, help an old captain get to her seat?"

"I would love to." Amelia smiled thinking back to her wedding, when her father had taken that lone walk with her and handed her off to another man. It felt a little like that now, only the other man she was being handed over to wasn't someone she intended to spend a lifetime with. Limping up the ramp Q tried to carry her partially as they walked over to the pilot seat. Q helped her sit down, Amelia leaned back in her chair and letting out a sigh. This was it, she was here now, she was ready to take Gaveris on once and for all.

"Wait." She stopped Q before he walked off. Pulling out a PADD she handed it to him. "Don't tell mother, you know how she is about not changing timelines. That's all the information you need to save her. All the leaks, all the corrupt figureheads. Times, dates, locations. Take them down before they contact Gaveris but don't let mother know." She looked up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I told you, I don't always play by the rules either."

"Like father like daughter." Q laughed.

"I'm more like you than I care to admit." Amelia nodded and sat up again. "Now, get off my shuttle." Patting her on the shoulder again Q turned and moved down the ramp standing back as the shuttle fired up. He wrapped an arm around Kathryn and pulled her close, that look on her face confirming the fear he had been feeling as well. Nearly in the blink of an eye Pegasus was out the hanger bay door and through the forceful. Then just like that she was out of sight completely.

Amelia sat back again looking over in the co pilot seat, that stupid stuffed dog still sitting there. "Pegasus, do you remember the program Thomas installed before he left? The one I made him program into you."

"Yes." The shuttle responded.

Amelia grabbed the puppy off the seat beside her and held it to her chest. "I'm authorizing you to activate it now."

"Understood." Amelia nodded her head with a smile. "Captain Janeway." Pegasus continued. "I have a last video recording for you. Would you like me to bring it on screen?"

"A recording?" She sat up a little more.

"It activated when I initiated your program." She looked over at the small screen and nodded her head.

An image of Thomas showed up on the screen, his dark locks, those warm brown eyes of his, the picture of perfection as far as she was concerned. "If you are listening to this you have clearly done what I asked you to never do, I know I can't change your mind Amelia but I just wanted to say I'm proud to have flown with you all those years and I am going to miss you. You were more than just a captain to me and you will always mean more to me. I love yo..." Amelia shut the video off and looked out the window into the great expanse of endless stars. Once upon a time she could have seen them all, what a grand adventure for a starfleet captain. Feeling the shuttle shake after the first strike Amelia sat back up leaning over the controls and grabbing her side.

"Pegasus?"

"He's dropping above up, port side."

"Fire." Amelia ordered taking over flight controls and turning her shuttle so she could see him. He tried firing his phasers again but Pegasus had gotten the lock on his weapons systems and struck. "Run you coward." Amelia growled as he made an attempt to turn around. He dropped mines behind him hoping to keep her from a pursuit but she wasn't giving in yet. "Try to avoid those mines Pegasus." She ordered feeling the shuttle shake as one hit her.

"Shields down to 95%"

"Keep on him." She shuttle shook again as another mine detonated at her side. "Lock onto his life support systems and fire." The shuttle shook, another mine hitting, this time rupturing a hole through the hull. "Put up a forcefeild around the breach." Her shuttles phasers fired again striking his ship once more. "Now lets blow a hole through him. Charge up your aft canon sweetheart, it's time to finish this."

"Canon charged."

Amelia patted the consul with a smile. "I love it when you get aggressive." Forcing herself out of her seat she stood up planting her hands on the consul and leaning over it. Her sides aching . "Fire." The torpedo was launched, the burst of light flying through the darkness into his shuttle. Amelia watched with satisfaction as his shuttle blew apart, bits and scraps flying away from the mass of the debris field. "Good job Pegasus, just as it should be, what do your scans say?"

"It worked Captain Janeway."

Behind her she saw the beginning of the energy signature as Gaveris materialized onto her ship. Just as she had expected. Once he stood there in his full glory Amelia turned around in her seat, her hands folded and resting in her lap as she addressed him. "Welcome aboard Gaveris. It's been a long run you and I. Time we finish this don't you think?" He tapped his transporter again, likely trying to get to Voyager now. "You should have checked your systems twice before you jumped onto Pegasus. You passed an electromagnetic net that deactivated your devices. You can't transport yourself out of this one." He lifted his phaser trying to fire at her but that too didn't work. "Just the two of us, like old times."

"You'll die Captain Janeway." He growled at her.

Amelia nodded in agreement. "I know, that was my intention." She nodded to the display screen of her shuttle, the numbers counting down. "And you are coming with me. You are trapped on Pegasus, no way of transporting out, no way of shutting it down and from the looks of it we have, about 60 seconds. So what do you want to say to me and make is fast."

He glanced between the display screen and Amelia, his eyes full of hate. "Not without a fight." He replied.

"I hoped you would say that." Gaveris pulled the knife from the sheath on his leg and ran at Amelia while she pulled her phaser. Firing two shots into his chest she watched him swing the blade down. In a second Amelia felt her breath getting caught in the back of her throat, the blade plunged into her chest. Gaveris dropped to the floor after her finger pulled the trigger one last time, his head slamming back against the shuttle's wall. Unable to keep her fingers gripped around her phaser she let it slip out of her hand and drop to the floor. Her other hand reaching for the blade in her chest. She grabbed hold of the handle but couldn't pull it free, she was too weak. "Raise the net..." Amelia coughed knowing Voyager would try to beam her out, Captain Janeway would try to beam her out and she was right. Not long after Amelia was being hailed. Hitting the keys to let the transmition come through Amelia rested her fingers on the screen seeing her face again.

"Amelia, lower your shields, we are getting too much interference to beam you out."

Her eyes glanced over to the timer with a little smile, blood starting to run from the corner of her mouth. "Sorry mom." She choked putting a hand over her mouth. "But as you now know, I'm not coming back, I never intended to come back. I destroyed the only thing that can put me back into my...time. This was a one way mission from the start, I'm sorry I lied to you but I don't think you would have helped me if you knew." Amelia leaned forward choking again, her hand covered in blood now. She didn't want her mother to see her like this but she still had something to tell her. Glancing back at the timer Amelia shifted her gaze to Janeway. "Captain Janeway." She paused putting her hand on her screen, bloody fingerprints sliding over her mothers image. "Don't be afraid." Amelia smiled and closed her eyes cringing as the timer ran out.

Captain Janeway stepped back feeling the ship shake as the shuttle blew up. The image cutting out, nothing but silence. "Mt. Paris?"

"There are no life signs." He responded looking back at his captain as she stood there, the screen switching over to a faint fading blue light where Pegasus had been.

Janeway took a deep breath and let it out. She wanted to cry, no matter what point in time Amelia had come from she was still the captains daughter. Holding back on her tears she thought of what the Captain had told her before the link cut out. 'Don't be afraid.' The same words she had apparently told Amelia before dying. Forcing on a little smile she looked back at the crew of the bridge. "Mr. Paris, set a course for home, for Captain Amelia Janeway."

 _The Day After..._

Q walked into the ready room to find Janeway playing with Amelia on the floor, Rowley sitting down behind them and just watching like a good guard dog. The captain had a big grin on her face as she tickled Amelia and laughed. "Spending some quality time with Amelia?"

Janeway looked up at him with a spark of excitement in her eyes. "Look Q, she's smiling." He walked over quickly wanting to witness it himself. After all this time twisting her face and trying to smile she finally had figured it out. There she was with a big bright grin on her face, kicking her legs happily as Kathryn tickled her.

"It's about time." Q squeezed Kathy's shoulder. "Now she can learn to laugh at my jokes." He teased before realizing Kathryn had stopped smiling. "The future isn't fixed in stone Kathryn. Our daughter, our Amelia is still alive thanks to her. She still has a lifetime in front of her and that future, that doesn't have to become her reality."

"I know." Katrhyn paused looking up at him and resting her hand on his. "But Captain Janeway was still my daughter. It's not easy to, watch your daughter..." She forced a smile so she wouldn't cry. She had been wanting to but she just couldn't.

"It's okay to cry for her Kathryn, I did." He squeezed her shoulder again.


	35. Hybridization

"Captain, we would be happy to accommodate you and your crew for as long as you needed."

Q almost cringed, again he wasn't suppose to be on the bridge but somehow he always showed up in time to see someone try to flirt with his fiancee. "Thank you Chancellor."

"I look forward to meeting you in person, Captain Janeway." When they got to the surface Q was going to slap that guy in the face. Once the screen went blank Q looked over at the captain.

"Captain, I think that man has a crush." Q commented walking towards Kathryn. "Amelia has never actually been off Voyager before. I wonder what she will think of shore leave. After all according to the, chancellor his world is a tropical paradise and, sanctuary to all." Somehow saying that made Q feel a little nervous. No place was that perfect. Did it rain acid from the sky?

"Just remember Q, Amelia was born on Voyager, the first time Naomi went down to a planet she had some problems breathing and adjusting. Just keep that in mind if you want her to go down there."

Q paused not really wanting anything bad to happen to Amelia. "Well after all the steroids pumped into her the first week of her life she should have the strongest lungs on the crew." He joked. "But I'll still consult the doc before we join you." The reality of Amelia experiencing a bunch of first was exciting to him. "Guess what, she's going to see an actual sky for the first time. She's going to hear birds, she's going to play in the dirt."

Janeway turned to him. "She's not playing in the dirt."

"Just a little." Q shrugged. "What? Children like to play in dirt."

"Children yes, three months old, no."

"It's not as though I'll have her eat it."

"Just one step at a time." She added as Paris turned around looking at the two of them.

"Mom, dad, stop fighting." Paris spoke up before turning back to his station. Hopefully Janeway didn't get upset with him now.

Q was quick to get Amelia to the doc so they could go down to the planet. One thing that they hadn't been exaggerating was the beauty of this world. It truly was a tropical paradise and it wasn't hard for Q to see why many travelers ended up settling here. Janeway never would, no matter how beautiful and safe a planet was she would risk everything to return to Earth. Amelia was much more excited now that they were here, her attention constantly being pulled from one place to another. She was a bit taken aback by the wind and trees, the sounds of birds, and most of all that big blue sky. Walking over to where a good chunk of Voyagers crew had assembled Q spotted Janeway with that sparkly eyed Chancellor. "Look Amy, your mommy is talking to that creepy little fellow again. Lets go shut him up." Amelia cooed at her father making Q snicker a little. "That's what I said as well." Resting her against his shoulder he march closer to Janeway waving to catch her attention. "Hello darling." Q spoke up loud enough for the chancellor to hear him. "Your daughter is enjoying herself down here."

Janeway turned at looked at Amelia, a big grin on her face as she looked up at the sky. She was so busy looking around Amelia hadn't even noticed Q had passed her off to her mother. Her eyes fixed on a strange something overhead, some sort of animal fluttering by that made no sound. It's wings looking as though they were made of paper. "Hello Amelia." Janeway smiled at her daughter before following the baby's wide eyed gaze. "Butterfly." Janeway gave a name to the creature her daughter had been so transfixed on. Amelia cooed back at her mother as if she wanted to repeat the word but was unable to do so. Her green eyes turning to Janeway as she smiled.

"You should have seen her when we first got here, I didn't know if she was going to cry. When the wind blew from the trees she looked up at me as if the sky was on fire." Q laughed, Amelia had gotten braver over her short little life. It seemed like only a few weeks ago everything made her cry. Making a funny face at her use to make her cry but she had gotten a healthy curiosity. "She shed a few tears when a bird startled her but once she realized it wasn't going to hurt her she was more excited about being here."

"Everything is new to you here." Janeway looked back to the butterfly that Amelia was so fixated on. It seemed like such a simple thing to everyone else but it was alien to their daughter. The only other place Amelia could see these sort of creatures would be on the holodeck and as much as Q wanted to show her to world on the holodeck Janeway had asked him to hold off on bringing their daughter in there. Amelia had a funny habit of making this malfunction when she felt uncomfortable.

"I wasn't aware you had a daughter." The chancellor sounded slightly disappointed, good. That should teach him to hit one women he didn't know very well. Especially women who were already spoken for. "She's just as charming as her mother." The man smiled looking back at Janeway and giving Q a quick eye twitch. That bastard, he was lucky Q didn't have his powers or he would have turned him into a pig and considered having himself some bacon.

Stepping closer to Janeway Q smiled and joked around. "As charming as her mother and and as quick as her father." Q puffed up his chest trying to prove a point. "I'm Q by the way."

"Ah Q, a pleasure to meet you." The chancellor put his hands behind his back. "Captain Janeway has spoken of you. Ensign Q, you are a medical officer on Voyager correct?"

"Why yes, yes I am." Q smiled at Kathryn, she had talked about him? Now didn't that make his boyish heart go all a flutter.

"Maybe you could help us with a problem we have been having. A viral outbreak in one of our colony's near the ocean. Our doctors have been stumped by it for months. Luckily we have quarantined the area but a cure would be beneficial to my people."

Nodding his head Q looked over at the other man. "Well, I could talk to the doctor, perhaps you could get swabs and he can grow a few cultures to determine a treatment. I would be happy to help." Q paused and turned his attention back to Kathryn and Amelia. "Of course, I would also like to spend some time with my family. Not often I will get a chance to show my daughter around a friendly planet."

"Oh I am certain we can find time for this, it wouldn't take long. Besides I am certain Captain Janeway can handle your child for a few hours."

Q laughed knowing Amelia, he didn't want to frighten the 'locals' by saying she was possibly as powerful as a godlike being but it would have been honest to say so. "So long as she doesn't cause any trouble." He laughed looking at the baby, no really, he didn't want her to cause any trouble. As Q was about to walk off with the chancellor and perhaps talk more about this infection bothering the colony there came a commotion from across the little park they had been standing in. He thought it might have been a few locals having an argument and instinctively Q got closer to Kathryn again, wrapping an arm around her and resting his free hand on Amelia. That was when he noticed Torres punching another man int he face as his two comrades drew their weapons. "Torres." Q gasped, she would be the one to pick a fight on a planet kind enough to host them for a few days.

"Is she a member of your crew?" The chancellor asked.

"Yes, she's our chief engineer." Q answered before Janeway could say a word.

"There must be some kind of misunderstanding then." He seemed to know who the people were who were assaulting Torres. Turning back to the captain he asked her a question that made even Q do a double take. "She's a pureblood correct?"

Janeway didn't know how to answer his question, she had that same look of confusion cross her face. "Pureblood?"

"Meaning she is not a hybrid." He responded.

"She's from a human father and a Klingon mother." Janeway responded. "Why does that matter."

The Chancellor looked away from the captain and bowed his head. "I am sorry then, I'm afraid your Chief Engineer is guilty of her crime then."

"What crime?" Q asked sounding very irritated by this chancellor. Was Janeway going to let him punch this hack now?

"Her crime against nature. We do not allow hybrids on Palsia, they are unpredictable, dangerous. We have forbidden inter species matting for over a hundred years and our planet has been peaceful because of it." Janeway stepped back holding Amelia a little closer to her. "Do you have other crew members who are hybrids?"

"Even if I did I wouldn't tell you who they were." Janeway growled back. "Now let my crew member go. We can leave your planet in peace."

The chancellor turned to her showing a little aggression of his own. "Knowingly harboring hybrids is also a crime on this planet. Punishable by death. I would hate for something bad to happen to you Captain. Especially when you have your daughter to think about." Her expression didn't change for a moment as she glared at him.

"We were not aware of your laws before you gave us permission to come to your world." She reminded him, had she known she wouldn't have come here.

"I suspect by your reaction you have other hybrid crew members. We will do a genetic scan to everyone aboard your ship, once we have cleared all hybrids from your crew you will be free to leave, or stay. I promise the hybrids on your crew will not be harmed. We shall only relocate them to a specialized holding facility where they can live out their lives." Somehow that didn't seem like it was the full truth and Janeway wasn't giving her crew, her daughter up to these people.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Janeway replied.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choi..." His words were cut off when Q punched him in the face, he was getting much better at hitting people because this time he didn't even cry about being hurt. He still shook his hand and silently cried out but didn't throw a fuss like last time. As Q moved to press his com badge two more men came to restrain him, another two fixing their weapons on Janeway. Q knew she wouldn't do anything to risk Amelia's safety but then at the same time Amelia was already unsafe here. "You are going to regret that Q." If Q had his powers he would have put that bastard in a black hole. Where would that cocky grin be then? The chancellor nodded his head having one of his men scan Q and look up at him.

"He's clean." With another nod of his head the man went over to scan Janeway making Q fight the two guards restraining him. "Clean."

"The captain and I are both human, you should just let us go..." Q trues to argue as the man turned to scan Amelia. "Oh come on, Amelia is our daughter, you have seen for yourself we are both human. Do you really think..." The scanner they had been using started beeping as the doctor scanning Amelia looked back at the chancellor.

"Impure, a hybrid." He looked back at Q with a wicked little smile on his face. "Are you certain this child is yours?" Q narrowed his eyes trying to burn a hole through his face. What a dirty move, trying to make Q question Amelia's parentage. If the dim witted biped knew what he really was he wouldn't have questioned.

"You'll wish she wasn't my child if you take her away from her mother." Q warned with a little smirk. Amelia would show him soon enough what happened when you made a Q child unhappy.

"These readings can't be right, they keep changing." The scientist spoke up looking back at the child. "It can't decide what she is, some of her DNA matches the mother but the rest of it...it's..."

"You can't measure a Q by DNA as we have evolved beyond the physical. We are immortal, effervescent, all powerful. We are not force to be as limited as you...little simple bipedal species."

"We shall see about that." The chancellor responded getting uncomfortably close to Q's face. "Take the child, we shall sort it out later." He ordered the men. As they closed in reaching out for Amelia she didn't burst out crying, she didn't look to her mother, instead she looked back up at the butterfly and smile. So alarmingly innocent and ignorant to what was happening right now. Q feared what would happen to her until one of the men had a hand on Amelia and just like that, with a bright flash of light she was gone. He internally cheered the little girl on, feeling damn proud of his protegee for accomplishing that and at the same time he was a little fearful. Amelia was a baby with limited control and understanding of her powers. Hopefully she had gone someplace safe. "What happened?" The chancellor barked looking around with confusion.

"Like I said, she effervesced." Q smiled, this was the best feeling he could have. That little 'hybrid' was giving the chancellor and his men a hell of a time.

"Where is she?" The chancellor ordered in his big commanding voice.

Q shrugged looking a little more calm now. "How should I know, she could be anywhere, She could be at any point of time or space or she could simply be everywhere. Without my own powers I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to." The chancellor nodded his head making one of the men walk over and hit Q hard in the chest with the back of his riffle.

"Place them in holding with the other. I want you to search their ship for more hybrids and find me that child. I'll not be made a mockery of by a...filthy mongrel."

"Yes sir."


	36. How To Break a Captain

Q was being dragged back to the holding cells, his nose bleeding as they took down the forcefield and tossed him back inside. Torres rushed to his side trying to help him up but as soon as she touched him Q was crying out in pain. "I'm sorry." Torres pulled her hands back. "Did Voyager get away? Have they captured anymore of the crew?"

Q remained laying on the ground putting a hand on his chest as he caught his breath. "I think everyone else got out alright, they can't seem to find Voyager." Q sat back up looking around the cell. "Where's Kathy?" He looked a little panicked now.

"I'm here." The voice came from behind him. Turning to look at the other side of the walkway he could see her leaning against the side of her cell.

"What are you doing over there?" Q asked trying to get back on his face.

"They felt it was a little too risky keeping me in there with you." As the captain and their leader she was a risk. She could organize an escape and possed the greatest danger to them, even alone.

"Afraid we'll make more unclean mutts?" Q joked and wiggled one of his brows as he looked up at Kathy. "I wouldn't, not in front of the kid." He motioned towards Torres. 'Although..."

"Thanks." Torres spat the words out trying to end his conversation. "Now can we talk about how we are getting out of here?" She looked back at the captain on the other side of the hall.

"We can't shut down these force fields from inside the cells. Maybe we should wait for them to come and interrogate one of us. Rush them when they lower the force field, take their weapons, of course that leaves us with one problem." Q rambled on still trying to get off the floor. "Where the hell Amelia went."

"You can hardly stand up Q, if you intend to rush anyone we won't be getting very far." Janeway added leaning against the wall of her cell. She was well aware of the fact Amelia had just transported herself out of harms way. In a perfect world the baby put herself safely back on Voyager. At least that was what she had to tell herself until they got out of here. "The best we can hope for is a rescue." Q didn't like her answer, he wanted to get up and do something, then again getting up wasn't happening anytime soon.

"Well I for one Kathy think we need to get out of here before they try taking Torres to that, facility, whatever it is. We have twenty four hours until she is relocated. We might be able to use the opportunity where they come to grab you and use it against them. A strong half Klingon like yourself can overpower a few of the guards and I can help." Using the wall Q stood up only to let out a cry and fall back to the ground again. Janeway moving up against the force field of her cell as Torres ran to his side.

"I'm not a medical doctor but it appears your leg is broken." Torres commented as Q silently screamed to himself. If he acted any more 'weak' than he already had Janeway was going to lose her faith in him.

"You think?" Q yelled back slapping his hands over his right lower leg. "I can still distract the guards while you take them out Torres." He insisted trying to slid himself over to the beds in the corner. At the end of the hall they could hear the doors open into the holding facility. Q's attention jumped back into the hallway as footsteps crept closer making him wonder if they were coming to take Torres now. If anything happened to that woman Tom would never forgive him, broken leg or not he was going to fight them off. The footsteps grew closer and closer until they stopped between the two cells, the guard standing with his hands behind his back, his eyes shifting over the inhabitants. He was ready to spring his trap and defend Torres if it came down to it. The guards attention shifted back to the other cell, a sense of helplessness coming over Q.

"She's next." The guard ordered his men as they took the force field down on Janeway's cell.

"No, leave her alone." Q drug himself back to the front of their cell and forced himself to stand, his hands bashing into the force field and nearly throwing him clean off to the back of his cell. "You leave her alone." He collapsed to his knees again as they grabbed Janeway and started walking her down the hall. "If you hurt her, I'll..." He paused, every time. If only he had his powers, if only. Unfortunately he didn't, he had to find a new solution to this problem. The door closed behind the men after they vanished out from the hall, Q's eyes fixed on where they had taken Janeway. "I'm going to kill them, somehow."

They continued to walk Janeway through the facility towards the room they had taken Q to before, where they had beaten him for information. She knew the inevitable was coming, she would have to endure through it and say nothing. She would have been lying to herself if she thought she wasn't afraid, truth was you were always afraid in these situations but you pushed through them all the same. Walking her up to a T shaped restraint they stepped her up onto a platform and locked her wrists into clamps on either outstretch at the top of the T. A man standing over by a table covered in a nice little collection of instruments more than likely to be used on her. The man near the table snapped on black gloves, his long black jacket sweeping low to the floor like some sort of mad scientist. "Inquisitor Cal, we have the captain of Voyager." One of the guards announced.

The Inquisitor looked up at Janeway with dark eyes and a bright smile. "Good, good, you may leave us now. I shall tell you when I am done here." He grabbed something that resembled an old world scalpel off the table and walked over to Janeway looking rather excited to meet her. "Chancellor Elozer asked me to be easy on you." The Inquisitor smiled. "I think he likes you." He played with the blade in his hand turning it around and admiring the way it sparkled in the dim lighting.

"I thought inter species relationships were frowned upon on this planet." She snapped back.

"Not relationships, just cross breeding. Many females of various races have been sterilized in the past to accommodate relationships outside her species. Some males as well. It is a safety precaution taken to avoid the creation of unstable hybrids as your little offspring has proven. Hybrids are very dangerous, unpredictable, they tend to be mentally unstable, trapped between the mindset of two species. They don't belong anywhere in this world, outcasts of society. They can never belong, just as your offspring can never belong."

"She gets along just fine. On my world we have many hybrids, we have never had more trouble with than than any other citizens. They embrace both their cultures, they add new outlooks to our society, are open to embrace more possibilities because of it and are often times living proof of how much we are all alike no matter what planet we were born on." Janeway argued.

"Hybrids erase the distinctiveness of a species. Is that what you would want in the world? For your race to be replaced by mixed blood filth? Your species extinct generations from now because you lost your individuality? There is more than one way to concur a species, you can murder them, you can kill them off OR a simpler tactic you can breed them out." It seemed he had a perfect counter argument, no one liked the idea of their species completely vanishing but that never really seemed like a great risk. In fact she knew many 'hybrids' who united two species. Brought them together under a single understanding. Sometimes hybrids were known for being bringers of peace, she knew Amelia was.

"You think all hybrids are evil horrible people but that is not true. They can be a link, a common ground to unite two species, bring peace out of war, understanding out of mistrust. In my worlds history we have many great people who were born from parents of separate species. Even my own daughter was born to bring peace. Her existence brought about the end of a war that cause a threat to every living creature in this galaxy."

"And her existence can cause even greater harm." He paused. "I spoke with the one called Q, he had many interesting things to say about his kind. The Q, god like beings with almost unlimited power. Such power breed into a race like your own, even my own can prove highly lethal. You never considered that for a moment when deciding such a risky union? If anything your foolish mistake has proven further why species should not mix bloodlines. You may have damned every race with your poor choice Captain but I intend to correct it. Ordinarily we allow hybrids to live out their life away from the rest of society. They are sterilized and put to work in colonies but unfortunately your child is far too dangerous. Our only option will of course be termination but do not worry. It will be as humane as possible."

Janeway fought against her restraints as she leaned closer to him. "Humane? What you are doing is inhumane. There is nothing humane about what you have been doing here, what you have done with my crew members, what you have done to me. What makes you think you can ever get to Amelia?"

He smiled and pressed the blade against her throat, almost tempted to slit it. After all the captains folly had put his people, HIS species at risk. Why not end her life? It was simple, though she committed a crime, committed heresy he still needed her alive. "Your little ship, Voyager may have escaped us but I can grantee you this. Your abomination has not. Your." He paused pulling the knife away from her again. "Fiance said you could not capture nor restrain a Q. It is clear as your offspring has proven elusive but I learned something hunting great stags with my father as a boy. The adults meat is too tough to eat but the fawns prove to be much better. With their finer soft pelt and tender flesh they are ideal for hunting but are shown very young to stay hidden. They are very obedient to their mothers, laying low where she leaves them in the brush, never moving or blinking and yet at the same time they are very attached to her. An obedient young fawn will never breath without her command so we invented a new way to flush them out. We used their loyalty to their mothers, their love and attachment to her. We would bring down a doe but not kill her. To kill the doe would mean the fawn would stay hidden, we would never capture it. Instead we used her to draw the fawn out. We made her scream, we made her cry, and when the fawn became so full of fear and concern it followed another instinct. It left the brush to come by her side, perhaps out of a primal need to be near her, to survive or perhaps it was a drive to try and help her. Quickly the fawn would leap from the brush and bound towards its safety, it's mother and before it could react we would take it down."

"That's barbaric."

"It may be but I have found it works in more than just animals." The blade got uncomfortably close to her throat again. "Now the only trick is to get my doe to scream. Can you scream Captain Janeway?" Her eyes widened a little realizing what he was going to try and do to draw Amelia out. "I know I promised the Chancellor I wouldn't harm you too badly but I'll do whatever it takes to accomplish my job."

Q leaned against the wall as he tried to think of ways to get them out of the cell. "We need to get to her as soon as possible. I already met the Inquisitor. He's a persistent fellow and if he doesn't like your answers well...lets just say he is very good at making a person honest." Q hobbled over to Torres before taking a quick break. "Trust me, I kept my mouth shut until the end."

"What did he ask you about?" Torres looked at his leg again. She couldn't do anything for him but it made her feel somewhat useful just taking a look at it.

"You know, the usual. Where is Voyager, do we have anymore hybrid crew members, if so who they are, how your performance is on the ship, what your personality is like, what Amelia is capable of, why as a human I have a hybrid child, what the Q are like. They were very curious about the Q." He leaned forward a little catching his breath. "Don't worry, when they asked me about you I told them you are one of the most pleasant people to work with. I figured it was best not to feed into their stereotype of all 'hybrids' being evil abominations though when I told them about myself before my mortality and about Amelia they seemed very, concerned."

"What did they say about it?"

"Oh you know." Sitting down on one of the beds he propped his wounded leg up trying to regain some feeling in it without that bone splitting pain. "Your typical evil monologue. How I was careless in creating something so dangerous and unpredictable, how I have endangered the crew of Voyager. I reminded them if I had a full blooded Q child the universe would be in greater risk than one who was part human. I don't think they were buying it."

"Lets just hope the captain is able to reason with them."

Q shook his head giving Torres a grim glance. "No, I know that man. I got to know him, intimately, more than I would like to. It's hard not to get to know someone as they inject a deadly toxin into your veins that makes all your nerves hyper sensitive. Like being on fire...I just hope Kathryn can last longer than I did because even when you pass out he will just give you something that forces you to stay awake and 'enjoy the full experience'. Q laid back again curling up partially.

"I'm sorry Q." Torres was going to pat him but refrained after hearing what he had gone through. "But it was brave of you to keep quiet even after all that."

"I don't care about what I went through. I just don't want Kathryn to go through it."

The Inquisitor walked over looking rather intoxicated by his joy. A few well placed cuts along the captains body and she was still holding on, even after he had rubbed a mild acid into those wounds. Not enough to melt away flesh but enough to get carried a short distance through her blood and burn her. She just clenched her jaw and glared at him, not even uttering a peep. Waving his hand around with the needle in his grip he laughed at her. "You have an iron clad will Captain Janeway, I admire that in you." Stabbing the needle through her neck he injected her quickly and took a step back so he could admire his handiwork. "I have injected you with a toxin collected from a local species of reptile. It overstimulates your nerves sending false messages to your brain. It feels so I have been told like having your entire body catch fire. It may take a moment but once it starts to set in fighting it is nearly impossible."

She stood there for a moment feeling nothing at all aside from a small tingle. It took a minute until it hit her nearly taking her breath away in the worst way possible. Showing the strain of discomfort she fought against it as the pain boiled over into an unbearable level. Janeway moved forward pulling at her restraints, her head dropping down as she held in a cry of pain but it only got worse the more time went by. She couldn't let him see her in agony and she couldn't cry out. He was going to use her to kill Amelia, she would rather die than be the cause of her daughters death for the second time. She had watched Amelia die once before, never again. "Most impressive Captain Janeway, no one has ever resisted this long. You have almost brought me to tears or at least you would if you were not impeding my progress." He paused delivering a swift and powerful blow to her side with his fist. The captains body buckling under the force and she let out a cry. "That's more like it. Remember captain I do not wish to break you. This brings me no joy." It was almost as though he had a hint of pity in his voice while he delivered another blow to her kidneys. "On second thought, perhaps I get a little joy from it."

Kathryn stood back up, her body shaking as she fought against the pain, tears rolling down her face but she clenched her jaw and hung her head. Grabbing her by the hair he forced her to look at him but the look he had gotten wasn't the look he had expected. Rather than fear Kathryn glared at him. "You could make this easier on yourself Captain. You can make the pain stop if you just bring Amelia to me." She continued to glare at him though her eye contact broke. Closing her eyes she cringed again almost hyperventilating as the pain got worse. "Stop fighting me Kathryn, I really don't want to hurt you anymore."

"Cal." Kathryn could hardly speak but she proved her resilience. "Go to hell."

"You won't make this easy for me will you." He pressed his fingers into his forehead as though watching her resist was causing him pain. "It's time to give you a little extra special treatment in that case."


	37. Double Q

The device was clamped onto her chest, the tubes stabbed between her ribs as it switched on and nearly caused her to pass out. He had given her something to prevent her from black out from the pain, her body's natural defenses create to protect her from such intense pain now shut down and leaving her to suffer. Her legs buckled again causing the captain to hang by her wrists causing only further pain in her arms as she could no longer hold back her screams. A little smile slipped across Cal's face watching the captain shake. "See was that so hard?" He laughed at her, after letting out another scream Janeway still looked up at him with a death glare. He was going to pay, he was going to pay dearly. The machine wired to her chest buzzed again causing Janeway to let out another cry. Even through all the pain she got her feet under her once more and stood up only to lose control of her legs as the machine buzzed again and caused more cries in pain. She felt like she had gone on this way forever. Despite the pain, the agony she was happy Amelia hadn't shown up and likely wouldn't. He could hurt her but he couldn't win.

Another cry and Janeway had finally gotten back to her feet showing her truest defiance. "You know Captain, I'm almost envious of you. One day if I must be taken down I would hope it would be by someone like you. Someone worthy of taking my life."

"Keep this up and I might oblige you." She growled only to let out another scream while the machine started up again. From the corner of her eye she could see a bright flash, instantly her stomach doing a flip as she feared the worst. "No."

"See, it works every time, so effortlessly. Draw the fawn out into the open and finish it before it's had the chance to flee." He smiled lifting up his phaser. Amelia was laying on the floor in the far corner sucking on her fist and cooing innocently. Her attention darting about the room and kicked her back legs. Her attention quickly moved to the inquisitor while he moved closer fixing a smile on his face. "Hello darling, it's alright, I won't hurt you." He made his voice sound almost comforting, crouching down a little to seem less threatening.

"Amelia, no." Kathryn cried out.

"Sssssh, easy little one. It's alright." Amelia's attention shifted back to Cal, her green eyes widening as he raised a hand. "What a darling little creature you are. My what big eyes you have." When he felt close enough to her he aimed his phaser at her just out of Kathryn's sight. No need to make her suffer more than she already had. It would be over so quickly little Amelia wouldn't feel a thing. "Got you mongrel." He aimed at Amelia and pulled the trigger a bit surprised that the weapon wasn't working.

"Something wrong?" A voice spoke up behind him. Cal spun on his heels looking at another male figure, a tall, lean, gaunt figure with dark brown hair and sapphire blue eyes. Snapping his fingers the phaser turned to water in Cal's hand and dripped on the floor. "Now then, what are we doing here again?" Amelia cooed from behind him catching the males attention. "I know, you don't have to be so cross." He snapped his fingers, the machine falling from Janeway and the restraints snapping open. With a pained gasp she fell to the floor lifting herself up with shaking arms. The male walked over picking up Amelia and quickly sliding over next to Janeway. "Captain Kathryn Janeway I presume. I have heard so much about you."

She got back to her feet still feeling the effects of the toxin in her body, her skin feeling as though it would bleed should anyone touch her. "Who are you?" She sounded defensive, he didn't blame her.

"Q. I think you misplaced something." He held out Amelia to her noticing she still didn't look too well. Snapping his fingers Janeway realized the pain had stopped. Her fingers going to her ribs and noting the holes from the device were no longer there.

Amelia kicked her feet again cooing at her mother and giving Kathy a big smile. Quickly the Q handed the baby back to her mother a little pleased to see Janeway smile at her daughter. "Thank you."

"Don't look at me, it wasn't my idea. I couldn't make her stop nagging at me until I agreed to come to your rescue. Now, Q is where?"

Janeway looked a little surprised. "Amelia told you to come rescue me?"

"Of course." He paused a little confused, of that was right, humans were incapable of telepathic communication. "That's right, your mind is too simple to understand her. After all you don't speak Q like she does. She's very talkative, must get that from Q. Speaking of Q maybe we should fetch him as well?"

Janeway looked back down at Amelia wondering just what it was a three month old Q talked about until she was reminded of Q and Torres. "They are being held in the cells. This way." Kathryn was about to lead the Q to the proper location but instead he grabbed her shoulder.

"Walk? Oh please. So small minded." Snapping his fingers Kathryn found herself standing in the hallway looking at the cell that held Q and Torres.

Still injured Q nearly jumped off the cot to greet the captain. "Kathryn, you're alright, you found Amelia." He paused looking up at the other Q and sounding all the more excited. "Q."

"Q" the other Q responded with a nod of his head and a wave of his hand lowering the force field around the cell. "How is it you are always getting into trouble and I am always coming to your rescue?"

Torres wrapped an arm around Q to help him limp out of the cell. "Not always." Q snapped back until his companion snapped his fingers and repaired Q's leg. "Alright, maybe you have saved me a few times."

"A FEW times? Please Q, I'm practically your guardian angel. If it wasn't for me they would have put you down long ago." He raised his nose up in the air. "I met your daughter by the way, charming little girl, did she get her fowl language from you? Clearly she didn't get it from the mother. She's a charming creature...for a bipedal primitive race that is."

Janeway glanced between the two of them. "It's nice you two have the chance to catch up. Whoever you are." She glanced over at the newcomer Q. "But do you think perhaps we could continue this conversation someplace safer?"

The Q looked over at Kathryn letting out a sigh. "Is she always this demanding?" He asked seeming annoyed by the captains request. "Very well." Q snapped his fingers and brought them onto the bridge of Voyager. "Happy?" Q mocked. "Or would you like for me to grant you three wishes too?"

"Captain." Chakotay rose up from his chair. "We were just coming to get you." Chakotay walked over to the captain doing a quick look over of the group. "Are you alright?" His eyes shifting over to the other Q. "Who's this?"

"Yes Chakotay we are all alright now." Kathryn replied looking back at the other Q. "Thanks to him."

"And you are?" Chakotay asked again in case no one noticed the question from before.

"He's Q." Q answered just making it a little confusing for the commander. It was a bit difficult to keep them all straight. "He was a general in my army and a long time friend. We go back billions of years."

The other Q nodded his head. "The lava shores of Calebus, the Nevion Nebula, the rings of Alarious." He winked and nudged Q with his elbow. "We had such good fun together, and then you had to go and become mortal." He huffed glancing over at Janeway as if she was to blame. "Hmm, women." He looked closer at Janeway. "I don't see why you left us for this...little being."

Q stepped forward raising a finger. "You better be careful, this little being in my fiancee, and she can put you in an airlock and shoot you into space. Not that it's much of a threat to you but she's still a terrifying woman. Don't make her angry."

The other Q smiled and nodded his head. "So I came to understand, Amelia told me a great deal about your Janeway." The Q took one of Janeway's free hands and kissed the back of it. "I'm to understand you are the leader of this merry band of minstrels." Quickly she pulled her hand away from him and gave him that death glare that had won Q over. Turning to his friend he seemed a little more impressed now. "Oh, saucy. I like her. I see where Amelia gets it from." He turned back to Captain Janeway giving her a rather graceful sweeping bow. "It was a pleasure to meet you Captain, Q...I hope being human won't make you too dull." Looking over to Amelia the Q rolled his eyes. "And try not to be so bossy next time. A simple please would be sufficient." Snapping his fingers he was gone in the blink of an eye and a flash of light.

"Charming." Janeway joked, how many more Q's were going to show up on her ship? She was thankful for him having saved them but like all Q's she had a bad feeling he was going to come back.

"Well their goes our shore leave." Q sighed seeming very disappointed. He had been looking forward to a 'vacation' for a while now. "Next time lets go to a planet that isn't so hateful to hybrids or you know...anything we have in the crew." Amelia cooed seeming to agree. Q's attention falling back to her. "And you little Amy, you went to the continuum all by yourself?" He had that proud tone in his voice until the realization hit him. "That won't be good. You have to promise me you'll only do that in case of emergencies. I can't very well go in after you to bring you back home." She didn't sound too horribly concerned with what he was saying. "If at all possible I would like to keep Q from influencing her. He can be a little...difficult."

"More difficult that you?" Janeway laughed.

"What are you talking about? I have never been difficult." Janeway rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm trying to improve. Q on the other hand enjoys tormenting others for the fun of it."

"Really?" Janeway mocked again. "Sounds familiar."

"I never tormented you..." Q paused and put on a little smirk. "Intentionally." He straightened himself out. "Now, are we going back to that planet and blowing a hole into it's side?"

"No." Janeway growled. Her mood was ruined once again, after what she had been through she would want nothing more than to give Cal what was coming to him but she wasn't about to risk her crew for something as petty as revenge. "We still need to resupply. I want as much distance between Voyager and that planet as possible. After that we will have to find someplace else to do trade. Until then we will have to conserve our energy and resources."

Q was going to argue with her her but kept his mouth shut. Something he had to learn to do so he might survive. If ever he saw Cal again he would take that monster out. The thing that made Q rather nervous however was that he feared this wouldn't be the last they saw of Cal. His interest in their daughter had been a bit spooky. Beyond just eliminating some 'hybrid'. Getting his hands on Amelia had seemed more like the challenge of a lifetime, something he had waited his whole life for. If he was stupid enough to show his face near Voyager then just maybe he would 'let' Cal face off against a Q. It would be his first and last mistake.


	38. Scientific Method

Amelia looked over to the opposite side of the ready room, her attention constantly moving away from her mother even when Janeway tried to get her attention. She acted as if someone had just walked into the read room with them and her drifting eyes finally convinced Janeway she should look. As she figured, nothing. "What are you looking at Amelia?" Janeway asked the baby pausing and grabbing the side of her head. She had been tortured by this headache for days and no matter what it wasn't getting any better. Amelia glanced over at the door again rolling over onto her stomach and surprising Janeway a little. She was still getting use to the fact her daughter was starting to get mobile. Voyager wasn't going to contain her for much longer. The baby looked back over at the door again holding herself up with her arms and acting as if whatever had been by the door had moved closer to them. The baby rocked a moment losing strength in her arms as her green eyes grew wider and she let out a loud cry. Hearing Amelia crying only made Janeway's headache worse but she couldn't just yell at the baby. Picking Amelia up she thought it stranger still that her daughter hid her face against her shoulder and continued to sob. "It's alright Amelia." She rubbed the baby's back trying to comfort her. As much as she didn't want to contact the doctor again she was a little concerned. The last thing she needed was to be told to rest or have him give her a deep tissue massage. Pressing her com badge she winced at the pain in her head again. "Q, I'm bringing Amelia to sickbay."

"Is everything alright?" He sounded panicked.

"She's fine, just crying again. I just want to make sure it isn't her ear ache again." A few days ago she had experienced her first ailment, an ear ache. Nothing else had been wrong other than her ear hurting her and it went away before the doctor could treat it. Amelia seemed immune to most illnesses, even the Phage apparently, why she had gotten an ear ache and why it had cleared up so quickly was the mystery but it might have been possible as Amelia aged she was more prone to the average aches and pains of an ordinary human child. These were questions she wished she had asked Captain Amelia Janeway while she had been here. Raising a half Q child was a little like wandering in uncharted territory, a little like the Delta Quadrant. At least human children you could predict what to expect from them. There wasn't any data out there on children who were able to shut down a ship's helm controls or teleport themselves around with ease.

Getting down to sickbay Janeway laid Amelia down on one of the beds staying close in case the baby tried rolling off the sides. She had nearly fallen off the bed when Q was suppose to be watching her. In a flash Q was over at Amelia's side scanning her with a tricorder before the doctor even realized Janeway had showed up. "Is her ear ache back?" He asked looking over the scans. Nothing seemed to be wrong with her, she looked healthy enough and the scans weren't bringing up anything. "Hmmm, she was just crying again?"

"No, she keeps looking at the door just like yesterday. Just stares off into empty space."

"You know it was very rare but sometimes babies back on earth in the 21st century use to do that. It was found later in life they had schizophrenia." Q looked over at Janeway. "Not saying Amelia has it, if she did it would show up on scans." He tickled the baby on the belly making her smile up at him. "She seems fine now." Janeway grabbed the side of her head again, her headache was just as bad as before if not a little worse. Q moved quickly scanning over her and furrowing his brows. "You still have that headache?" Reading the scans he just didn't understand it, there wasn't anything wrong with her, maybe it was just the stress. They had gone through a lot lately and she wasn't getting any sleep. Less than two hours a night and once Kathryn got up Amelia woke up and made it almost impossible for the poor captain to get back to sleep. "I should get the doc and have him..."

"Please don't." Janeway interrupted up and put a hand up. "Just give me something for the pain and I'll be fine."

To avoid sounding like the doctor Q knew even if he told her she needed a little vacation she wouldn't have taken it. One of these days he was going to convince her to let Seven or Neelix watch Amelia so he could take her for a walk on the beach or a picnic in the park on the holodeck. Leaning in closer to the captain he got a devious little smirk on his face and wiggled his brows. "You know what else I hear can cure a headache?" She shifted her eyes back to him raising a brow and insulting his manhood without even opening her mouth. It was difficult having the ice queen captain as a fiancee sometimes, especially being human now. Q was never a slave to bodily functions like he was as a human. Sometimes he was at the mercy of his hormones. In fact only two days ago while assisting the doctor in Sevens weekly check in Q had found himself in an awkward situation. Though many of the men on Voyager would have crawled naked through broken glass and fire to just stand next to Seven Q had never really cared about her, nor her appearance. Yet a few days ago it suddenly hit him so bad he had to walk away and hide behind the doctors desk hoping Kathryn didn't walk in on him and question. These Starfleet issued uniforms made it difficult to conceal...excitement. In fact he had been randier than usual, unnaturally so which only furthered rubbed it in his face just how little action he actually got. "Did I mention how beautiful you are today?" He smiled back at her trying to get back on her good side, if she had a good side. She was less bitchy when she was pregnant and had become a emotional mine field nightmare and to be honest she looked like hell.

"That has been the fourth patient this morning to come into sickbay. " The doctor walked over interrupting their little conversation and making Q feel like his backup had finally arrived. "I hope you are having better luck."

"The captain still has a headache, she could use something for the pain. Amelia seems fine however, her earache hasn't come back." Looking back at Kathryn he rested a hand on her lower back almost snapping it back when he got a funny feeling in his stomach, that same sensation he had gotten from staring at Seven for too long. "You have a lot to worry about, I can keep an eye on Amelia, until you feel better." He kissed her on the cheek.

The doc loaded a hypospray and looked over at Janeway. "You know this is only a temporary fix Captain. It would be better if you took some time off. Maybe let me take a few more detailed scans in case of..."

Janeway raised her hand to stop him before he got too carried away. "Maybe another time." He couldn't argue with her, well he could but he wouldn't win. Giving her another dose of pain killer the doctor wondered when the captain would get into the habit of actually taking care of herself. Just as before Amelia's attention moved off into empty space, her eyes following something that wasn't there. This time it was the doctor who noticed it first and started scanning her right away. After a little while of watching her 'imaginary' friend she looked up behind her mother and broke into tears again, screaming as if someone was coming to hurt her. "Amelia?"

"Nothing is wrong with her." The doctor assured Janeway but Amelia wasn't acting like she was alright. She was acting like she was in pain. In an instant the terminals around sickbay started shorting out, even the doctors holoemitters failing as he faded away dropping the tricorder.

Q picked her up quickly fearing Amelia could do serious damage to sickbay if left to continue on like this. "Whoa, alright there Sparky, it's okay." The systems came back online as soon as she was lifted off the bed, the doctor coming back into sight as he looked around a little confused.

"What just happened?" He asked going to pick up his tricorder again.

"That's what happened in the ready room only she didn't short circuit the bridge. She acts like she is watching something then starts crying as though she was in pain." Q rubbed his daughters back feeling a little bad for her. Whatever was happening to her he hoped they could figure it out.

Amelia looked up from her fathers shoulder watching the strange alien woman as she tried to fix her scanner but Amelia had destroyed it. Maybe they would learn their lesson and leave her alone, leave her mother and her father alone, leave Voyager. Watching the alien woman Amelia cooed as a warning. Clearly they had never come across anything like her as she looked back at the baby with wide eyes full of concern. She should be concerned, next time Amelia wouldn't just shut down her scanners and probes. Next time she would stop her heart and see how she liked being a test subject. It wouldn't be so much fun once the Q side of her had put up with enough and gave them a taste of their own medicine.


	39. Growing Pains

Seven walked down the halls examining the aliens that covered the ship, she didn't know how long they had been here but they were everywhere and they seemed to be performing experiments on all the crew members. Including the captain. It seemed the only ones not affected was the doctor and Amelia though she was not free from the prying of these aliens. They didn't touch Amelia or get too close, only observe her from a safe distance and taking down notes as the baby observed them. Now that the doctor and Seven knew of the aliens on Voyager they were starting to understand Amelia's almost random outbursts. "They seem to have infiltrated every deck." She moved back into the turbo lift to head back to sickbay. Seven paused as one of the aliens scanned her, the reality that she herself was a target of their experiments had not been absent from her mind but the verification that she was being tested was still uncomfortable all the same. When the lift opened up the alien moved away from her and continued on it's usual rounds to examine other crew members. One of them being Q himself as he walked along the hall and towards sickbay. When he spotted Seven he made a strange face, something between fear and confusion. His eyes flickering away as he tried to move quicker and avoid her. "Ensign Q, Amelia is still at sickbay correct?." They were not to alert the aliens to her ability to see them but Seven needed to know the whereabouts of Amelia Janeway.

Q tried to sneak past her but the moment she called his name he spun around with that same look on his face. "Seven, I was just one my way to sickbay." He paused registering her question. "Yes, she's been there with Tom and myself all day."

"Good, I shall accompany you to sickbay then." Q swallowed hard and looked away from her.

"Fantastic, we can walk there together." He cleared his throat and started following after her. "I'm, trying to avoid Kathryn right now, she's not in the friendliest of moods." Besides sickbay was full of confusing cases lately, Chakotay, Neelix, the numbers just keep rising and with worse conditions than the last, it's stressful. Not as stressful as trying to avoid looking at Seven but still fairly bad. "And without the doctor I guess I am the only one capable of treating people, that and I have Tom helping me out with his limited knowledge." Walking into the sickbay together Q looked over the growing number of patience and rubbed his forehead. Tom looked like he had his hands full, he was needing backup. "Well, duty calls."

Seven looked over to the doctors small office where Amelia was resting. "Ensign Q, I would like to request permission to take Amelia Janeway with me. I..." She paused trying to think of a good enough excuse to bring Amelia to the holodeck with the doctor. "I wish to take part in this, bonding process. If I am to act as a guardian to Amelia I feel it would be beneficial for the both of us."

Q looked over at Seven and back to the patience. "I am busy, take her for a little while at least." Seven glanced back to Amelia noticing one of the aliens walking closer to the baby with one of their scanning devices. Amelia's attention turning to the unwelcomed being as she started to whimper. When the alien aimed the scanner at Amelia a spark ran through the device and up the aliens arm making her drop the device and back off taking greater caution.

With the alien backing away Seven walked over to Amelia and picked her up, for most people Amelia would have thrown a fit if they tried taking her away from one of her parents but the baby always seemed to have a strange trust in Seven. "Amelia, you are alright now." Amelia looked up at Seven with wide green eyes and then to another alien that had gone to follow her father. "I see them as well." Seven assured her, somehow Amelia seemed to show some understanding of Sevens words and appeared reveled. She was quick to get back to the holodeck where the Doctor was hiding inside that captains program. It was the first time Amelia had ever been inside the holodeck and she seemed more than a little amused. "You were correct in your assumption that Amelia can fend off the invading alien intruders." Seven nodded and handed the baby girl to him.

"I figured as much, she didn't have a tag on her when I scanned through the samples." The doctor bounced Amelia and smiled at her making the baby twist her face as if she was going to break down crying. "Sorry." He apologized to her knowing very well she could shut down the whole holodeck is she got upset. "Now, we need to figure out a way to bring these alien beings into phase with the rest of the ship. The others need to know, the captain needs to know about them."

"The captain has been compromised." Seven responded nodding her head a little. It was problematic, they were the only three on the ship who seemed to know what was really happening here. "But I believe I can bring the aliens into phase with the ship."

"Good, you should get to that, I'll keep Amelia here with me." Amelia looked up at the doc and made a valiant attempt at a frown. "Don't give me that look, there isn't much you can do anyways." She continued to look at him, wondering if he was serious. She couldn't do anything? Really? Seven had taken off to get to work while the doctor laid Amelia down on one of the work benches. "Now stay put, and if you know how, you might want to put that little force field around yourself. Just in case." The aliens didn't seem to realize he was here and why would they care? He was a hologram, they couldn't learn from him. However now Amelia was also on the holodeck and they did seem interested in her. It was just nearly impossible to get close enough to her for them to get any real information. A few minutes passed before Seven was able to contact the doctor again. Things hadn't gone according to plan but she had managed to use her phaser to bring one of the aliens into phase with the rest of the ship and alert the captain of their situation. It hadn't been their original plan but at least ti worked. Janeway would be able to take care of the situation from there.

With the crew knowing of the alien threat the doctor felt he would be better off back at sickbay. Turning back to baby Amelia he pointed at her. "You don't go anywhere, I'll be right back or I'll send someone else to come get you. Behave." The doctor walked over to the holodeck controls rerouting himself to sickbay. It was easy enough for him to move between the two places, even Amelia could make that transition in the blink of an eye, she just didn't have full control of those abilities yet. At first when the door opened to the holodeck she thought it would be her father or Seven, someone she knew come to get her like the doctor had promised. Instead it had been one of them, the strangers. She seemed fearful, that glimmer of concern in her eyes.

"I won't harm you little one." The stranger spoke to Amelia but she didn't trust her. Unlike the others this one did not pull out a scanner, instead she got closer and closer bringing herself into phase with the rest of the ship. "You're alright." She tried to make her voice friendly but it didn't work to win Amelia. Blinking her eyes a few times she took in a deep breath, anticipating the stranger trying to pick her up. If she cried now would anyone hear her? Amelia took her chance, her eyes shifting back to the entrance of the holodeck as she opened out her mouth and started to scream for whoever would hear her. It was both a warning and a cry for help but the stranger didn't seem to back off, only crept in closer and closer. Finally the alien had grabbed her, tucking a hand under Amelia's back and making her fall quiet. Amelia had been patient with them for a while now, she had warned them, she had hurt them so they would understand her message. She didn't want to be touched, she didn't want to be bothered and poked at. It reminded her of something she had forgotten, a bad feeling in her chest. A bad thing that had happened before she had been born. Needles, pain, panic, she was afraid, she was angry. The feelings flooded the little Q as she looked up at the stranger, her tiny heart racing, her breathing picking up. She wasn't going to be hurt again.

The stranger picked Amelia up holding her in her arms as the holodeck shut down all around her. Nothing but the grid and the holoemitters remained as her mothers program faded away leaving just the stranger and Amelia behind. Looking up at the stranger Amelia locked eyes with her showing more than average intelligence and focus for an ordinary human child. _'Stop it Amelia.'_ Someones voice whispered in the back of her mind, not her own voice, her own thoughts, something that was not her, her father, nor Q. Someone who had become apart of her, their energy fused with her own, their memories faded, cloudy in the back of her mind. _'He will find you.'_ She cooed, confused by the persons voice, clearly the stranger could not hear it. Taking in another deep breath Amelia closed her eyes as the stranger tried taking them both out of phase with the ship. Once the woman hit the button on her belt Amelia clenched her fists and felt for a moment like she had completely faded away. In reality she had, fading away her physical self into a form of pure energy that shot around the room and blowing out the holoemitters. When she opened her eyes again she had been laying on the ground, the strangers body burned and laid out on the ground, the scent of blood heavy in the air. Amelia didn't know what had happened or why it had happened, like all her abilities they were reactions, something she couldn't yet control and harness. _'He'll know where you are now.'_ The voice spoke up at her again, almost judging her for her actions. _'He'll come for you.'_ It hadn't been a threat but more a warning. The feeling of failing weighing heavy on her sensitive mind, feelings not entirely her own. Clenching her fists again Amelia broke down into tears crying out for anyone who would hear her.


	40. The Calm Before the Storm

The girl of fifteen stood on the cliff looking up at the space above her, a sky without logic to those who had grown up on a planet but to someone who understood the sky to be a great expanse of black with stars, the nebula's and planets in the distance sparkling. This sky made sense to her, it was a comfort to her. She looked up into that sparkling ocean, the red rock beneath her feet seeming alien and yet familiar at the same time. There she stood, her dark hair spiraling in the wind as she held a smile on her lips, her green eyes sparkling with serenity. _"Amelia."_ A voice called from over her shoulder making her turn, her eyes seeming to reflect the sky above her, stars moving through the bright green shine, nebula's swirling in the blackened pupils. His voice was familiar and yet she didn't know who he was. Her blue dress fluttered like the wings of the butterflies she had seen, her bare feet scrapping over the reddened rock while she moved towards the shadows.

 _"Hello?"_ Amelia asked without opening her mouth. She cocked her head to the side, her smile changing to a look of innocent curiosity. _"Do I know you?"_ Her feet moved with grace over the red rocks, her hands clinging to the wall that seemed to separate herself from the stranger.

 _"I know you."_ The voice replied, his tone almost ethereal, unlike the voices of those on Voyager, her mother's voice, her fathers voice. _"I am Teth."_

She paused in her place and took a step back down the rock wall. _"I know you. I remember you, you tried to take away my powers."_ Her tone went from one of innocence to annoyance. _"I need them, to protect Voyager, to protect mommy and daddy."_

 _"But they won't protect you."_ He spoke up from the shadows again not showing his face nor his form.

 _"Protect me from what?"_ The sky above her grew darker, the wind picking up as Amelia turned to see the blackness engulf the sky and swallow the sparkling light of the stars.

 _"From him."_ The wind hissed in her ears, the sky bleeding a red light, like a fire dripping from above threatening to scorch the earth around her.

Amelia turned back to the shadow that had been speaking to her. _"Teth?"_ There was no response. _"Teth?"_ Quiet whispers caught her attention, whispers that moved with the wind brushing against her ears and turning her attention back to the blackness. _"Teth I'm afraid, I want to go home."_ Her eyes remained fixed on the darkness, her fists clenching shut. _"I want my mommy and daddy."_ Amelia turned back to the shadow where the comforting voice had come from, her feet carrying her closer again. _"Teth answer me."_ A figure shifted, moving from the darkness. Taking a step back Amelia's eyes grew wide with fear, the figure looked burnt. A body that had been engulfed in flames with black chard flesh that cracked apart. The smoldering of flames leaked out from between the cracks in the flesh. It's Chard fingers stretching out to her as empty hollow eyes light up with that same haunting red glow above her. Amelia stepped backwards again letting out a scream. Her heels brushed against the edge of the cliff making her stand rigid against the approach of the burning man. Whispers continued to fill her ears, hundreds of words from the same voice rambling together causing waves of confusion. He was almost close enough for him to touch her but Amelia had no where else to run, her eyes looked up into his as he opened his mouth, flames erupting from his throat. Amelia screamed again pushing her hands out to stop him.

Opening her eyes the baby started crying, her face soaked with tears already. Since Q had found her on the holodeck she had been plagued with nightmares every night, finding it impossible to fall asleep and stay asleep with memories she had tried to forget and the memories that did not belong to her clawing at the inside of her head. Tonight it had been her mother to come to her rescue and pick her up out of her crib. Her head falling onto Janeway's shoulder. "0400 hours? Good morning to you too Amelia." Amelia whined and grabbed onto the closest thing to her which unfortunately for Janeway happened to be her long auburn locks. "Oh, no, let go, ah." Janeway uncurled the baby's tight grip and tried brushing her hair back. "You don't look like you are going to be going back to bed anytime soon are you." Amelia looked back up at Janeway with bright shinning eyes. "I'm going to need coffee, black coffee." This had become a common thing for Amelia in the morning. Her mother drank black coffee by the gallons, it was so bad the smell of coffee actually made her feel comfortable as it reminded her of her mother. When she was particularly fussy for Q he would replicate some coffee and set it by her joking Janeway had made her an addict.

Laying Amelia back in her crib so she could get dressed Q finally managed to wake up, sometimes he woke up from the sound of someone three decks down sneezing. Other days he could have slept through a red alert and woken up not having noticed half the ship was gone. "Where are you going?" He asked still trying to wake up, his arms wrapped around his pillow as he tried to fluff it back up.

"Amelia's awake and doesn't look like she will be going back to sleep any time soon. I'm going to go get coffee in the mess hall and work on a few things before morning shift starts."

Q shifted in bed rolling over and taking up her side of the bed too, that wasn't anything new, he was a bed hog. "I'll come with you." He yawned and glanced over at the crib.

"I said I wanted to get work done." She laughed, it was nice she wasn't so angry anymore, not that it had been her fault. They had been experimenting on them. Q just wished he could say the same about his condition. He was still not back to 'normal'. "You do nothing but cause a distraction."

"Well there won't be anyone else to talk to this early in the morning." He argued with her pulling a partial smirk across his lips when she called him a distraction. "Am I a good distraction?"

"Is there such a thing as a good distraction?" She raised her brow acting as though what she had said was negative but Q knew better when she was playing with him. She had this cute way of always pretending he annoyed the hell out of her and he had a funny way of playing into that. One the outside their relationship didn't look like it was going to work for the long run but between the two of them they sort of just enjoyed each other. They were both intelligent and determined, both equally as stubborn, and both enjoyed a little chaos even if Kathryn would never admit it.

Rolling off the bed Q scrambled to find a shirt, not because he had misplaced a shirt during some more exciting activity the night before. More so because he did what Tom did and replicated a shirt, wore it for a few days straight, forgot to replicate a new one, and ended up wearing the same undershirt for almost a week. Yes, it was problematic when you shared quarters with the captain and she threw a clean shirt at your face giving you the glare. That's why it was better he bunked with her, he would get away with too much if he didn't. "I need my shirt." He looked under the bed then crawled over to Rowley pushing the dog over to see if he was laying on it. By the time he had looked back over the bed Janeway had tossed a shirt at him letting it hit him in the face. "Thank you." She nodded crossing her arms over her chest. Pulling it over his head he fixed his hair with his fingers, straitening out his locks and smiling at a little thought that crossed his mind. Being human made him realize his hair was a bit unruly, at least he knew where Amelia's curls came from and why it was impossible to make some of them stay down. Every morning she had at least three strands of wild hair that stood on end making her look like she had horns, Q's hair had a habit of doing the same thing. Once he had his shirt tucked in he walked over to Kathryn kissing her lightly on the neck and making her turn her attention to him with a quirked brow.

"Q, you are aware the baby is awake." Dammit, she was right, why else would they be awake this early. "Besides, I need coffee before I start dealing with you." She shook her head, who didn't need coffee to deal with him? Amelia whimpered as if to prove her mothers point. Kathryn pulled her hair back securing it with a clip. "I'm thinking of cutting my hair short."

"Why?" He liked her long hair, it was so thick and soft until he woke up in the middle of the night choking on it.

"Well you try having long hair and a baby. It wasn't so bad when she pulled on my hair before because she didn't have her fine tuned motor control but now that she has started to develop a vice like grip it's not as pleasant. I think she pulled some of my hair out this morning."

Q snickered to himself but Kathryn wasn't quite as amused. Walking over to the crib he looked down at his daughter, she already had a blanket in her mouth as she looked up at Q and whimpered again. "Hey, and maybe before you finish zipping up your jacket you might want to consider feeding Amelia, I don't think she has yet to figure out how to absorb nutrition through blanket eating yet though she makes a fine attempt at it." Amelia choked a little as she gnawed on her blanket, Q carefully pulling it away from her face and cringing at the amounts of baby slobber she had managed to cover it in. "You are as bad as Rowley." Amelia squeaked at her father clearly displeased he had taken away her 'chew toy'. "Yes Amelia, blankets are for keeping you warm not for eating." He argued with her. "Despite what the dog thinks."

Getting to the mess hall was a task of it's own with a baby in your arms and a dog under foot. Rowley normally wasn't allowed in the mess hall only because he enjoy watching people eat and resting his head in your lap when you didn't share. Without anyone else in there the only problem he caused was the problems to Q. Q attempted to eat his toast in peace while Rowley set his head in the mans lap and whimpered quietly to himself, his eyes shifting between Q and his plate. "That's what you get for feeding the dog off your plate." Kathryn smiled and took a sip of her coffee. It was cute to feed Rowley food from your plate when he was a puppy but as an adult not so much.

"I have fed you off my plate and you don't come begging to me every time I get food." He commented. Though did force feeding the captain really count? She was always on the run, too busy to sit down and eat something. Sometimes Q just showed up in her office with her lunch and tried spoon feeding her only to get that death look.

"I'm not a dog Q." Her tone was a little more hostile now.

"That wasn't what I meant by it." He bit his tongue feeling like he had just taken a hose to a wasp nest. "So, since we are bypassing Krenim space how much longer do you think it will take?" He was desperate to change the subject now.

"Another four months." She didn't sound pleased about it but they had been given fair warning the space was in the middle of a dispute. Still, she couldn't shake the funny feeling she had traveled through Krenim space before. Almost like a horrible dream where Voyager was falling apart around her. Perhaps it was just that, a dream, a nightmare really.

"Well, Amelia will be almost, nine moths old by then." Q leaned forward looking over at the little girl in Janeway's arms. "You are growing up quickly Amy, stop, stop growing up right now."

"I'm looking forward to when I can hold a conversation with her." Janeway shrugged a shoulder.

"She holds conversations now." Q argued leaning back in his seat. "You just can't understand anything she says. She's like...a little drunk person. Rolls around on the ground dribbling making primitive sounds and wetting her pants." He started to laugh but it seemed Amelia was the one not pleased by his teasing. Her green eyes flickering over at him with that intelligence human children lacked.

"Don't make fun of her, she might start picking up other nasty Q behaviors and put you on the nearest deserted primitive planet." That was an uncomfortable reality, especially after Q had found Amelia screaming on the holodeck with the dead alien. The energy burns had likely come from the holoemitters blowing out, Amelia could shield herself from something like that. After all the ship had nearly been torn apart thanks to Kathryn but it still never did sit well with him. Something about the look on Amelia's face, she had shown fear before, she was afraid of the dark which is why they suffered with a night light in their room, she was afraid of Rowley sneezing which was why she burst out crying when he sneezed near her, she was even afraid of banana peels being flopped around, an interesting discovery in the mess hall one evening during the lunch rush. But that look on her face hadn't been fear, it had been terror. Since that day she hadn't slept very well either, he had even watched her try to fight sleep off. Where she had become so tired she would start drifting off, looking peaceful for just a moment and then shake herself awake. Amelia yawned looking like she was going to drift off again only to look back at Rowley and smile. "You would start getting sleepy when I have to start my shift in half an hour." Amelia turned her attention back to Janeway and smiled at her mother.

"Well I don't know about you but I would give up sleep to see that cute smile for a couple extra hours a day." He paused taking her cup of coffee and taking a sip out of it. It was awful but it was effective in keeping you awake and energized. "And Amelia's smile too." He joked finally getting her to lighten up a little this morning. Reaching his arms out Q tried to put on a more serious tone. "Permission to take Amelia with me today? You got to coddle her all day yesterday. Time for some father daughter bonding, I have to teach her how to cause mischief on this ship after all. What good is a Q without mischief?"

Janeway looked back down at her daughter feeling a little reluctant to give her up but it certainly helped when she didn't need to worry about Amelia while on the bridge. "Permission granted." Even just handing her off to Q was a little difficult but necessary. God forbid when they got back to Earth her mother would take Amelia away for a few months if she could. If her mother was still alive when they got home. "Just, try to keep the mischief to a minimum please."

Q took the baby and snickered at the captain. "I can't make promises Kathryn, especially if it's her idea." Amelia yawned again fighting the urge to close her eyes. "And maybe later you can go play with your friend Naomi." The baby didn't have much in common with the older child yet but Naomi always appreciated the visit. They were the only two children on Voyager, if they didn't become friends it was going to be a very long and boring trip back to Earth.


	41. Reflections of the Past

They had laid a course for Earth, nothing interesting coming up on their scans for light years and so it seemed they would pass this portion of space without distraction or trouble. Still as a captain even when it seemed nothing of interest was out there you had to be prepared. Today was just one of those days. "Captain, there is a Viidian vessel ahead of us sending out an SOS." Kim looked over at her. It seemed strange, the vessel hadn't been on the scans earlier. The captain knew Vidiians shouldn't be this far in the Delta Quadrant, if they were out here then they were far from home. It could be a possible trap but it was her obligation as a captain of the federation to lend help to anyone who needed it. Even a race such as the Vidiians. "Drop out of warp, go to impulse." Kathryn ordered and stood up from her seat. "Once we get in range I want it on screen." They left warp jolting in space a moment as if they had hit some sort of energy barrier.

"Shields are holding." Tuvok announced.

"On screen." Kathryn ordered looking at the heavily damaged Vidiian ship drifting, it's side seeming to dip lower than the rest of it as it swung sideways moving listlessly through space. "Life signs?"

"I'm not reading anything." Paris looked back down at him con. "Captain, I think we are being hailed."

Her attention went back to the image of the damaged ship, who was hailing them then? "On screen."

The image flickered from the vision of the ghost ship into a figure obscured by static. "Compensating for the interference." The image cleared up showing a figure cloaked in black, a strange black mask covering their face. It looked a little like body armor with a display visor covering the eyes. The figure looked rather small sitting in the command seat, their fingers pressed against a silver box just under their chin.

The voice sounded electrical, static breaking through the transceiver at the throat making it tinny and dark. "Are you the Federation ship Voyager?" The figure asked, the end of the sentence breaking into eerie static.

"We picked up your distress signal, what happened to your ship? Why are we reading no life forms on your ship? Are there other survivors?" Janeway started with her questions but the figure only titled their head sideways.

"Are you the Federation ship USS Voyager?" So long as their face was covered the crew could not determine if they were Vidiian, or if they were even hostile but one thing was clear, they had been looking for Voyager.

"What do you want with Voyager?" Kathryn asked.

"My scans are reading 158 lifeforms on your ship, stand by for data transfer." The figure spoke while pressing a few buttons on their con and looking down at their wrist.

"Captain I don't know how but whoever that is they bypassed all security systems, they have total control of Voyager." Paris tried regaining control of the con.

"This is the Federation ship Voyager." The figure looked back up from their wrist moving a finger clockwise around the device on their arm.

"Release control of my ship." Janeway growled but the figure did not respond. "Tuvok focus phaser fire on the bridge."

Finally the figure looked back up, the blank black mask reflecting the damage on the bridge making it clear the only thing holding it together was the dying shield around the ship. "Captain Janeway, you are Captain Janeway." They paused a moment tilting their head again. "I do not wish to harm you, I have been looking for you for quite some time now."

"Who are you?" If they had been looking for Voyager then they must want something from the ship, from her. Janeway glanced back to Tuvok giving him the hint to get ready in case the other vessel attacked.

Slowly the figure pressed a button to the side of their neck next to the silver box they had pressed to speak. A quick burst of smoke erupted around the chin line of the helmet as they removed it. Dark curls falling over their shoulders with focused green eyes locked on the screen. "My name is NX117." The voice was crystal clear and very pretty, almost holding a strange accent to it. Though her face was scratched up on one side she was very familiar to the captain, she couldn't have been any older than ten years old but held the maturity of someone twice her age in her eyes."

"Amelia?" Janeway looked harder at the girl on the screen.

The girl on the other side cocked her head again, confused by the name she had been addressed by. "No, I am NX117. I have been looking for you Voyager, my father needs your help. Will you give us permission to board your ship?"

Janeway stepped back a little confused, the girl looked strikingly like an older projection of Amelia from before she had been born and if she considered what Captain Amelia Janeway had looked like the girl before he could have fit the bill perfectly. "We can try to lock onto your location and beam you out."

The girl nodded her head. "Unnecessary, I have already locked onto the coordinates of your sickbay, I shall beam us there from my ship, alert your medical officers they are receiving two patients."

"Two?" Janeway looked at her again, aside from a few scratches she seemed alright.

"I received mild injuries to my torso that will require medical attention." The girl raised her wrist to the device on her arm. "Will I see you there Captain?" The girl let out a sigh. "I must go, the ship's life support is critical." The screen flashed back to the ship as the doctor contacted Janeway.

"Our guests are in sickbay captain."

"I'll be right down."

Janeway made her way down to sickbay, when the door opened she had to take a moment to step back and look over the scene. On the bed laid a Vidiian, his face horribly disfigured and mutilated as she remembered. Their race so horribly disfigured from the phage virus and their assimilation of other species organs. Beside his bed stood the young girl, her hand holding his tightly as she smiled down at him. Q was a little hesitant to call the girl over to one of the other beds and aid in removing what appeared to be some sort of body armor. "Looks like you have a few cuts and bruises but nothing serious." Q spoke up scanning her with the medical tricorder and looking over at Janeway with mild panic. "Captain." It was strange hearing him address her as captain.

Janeway ignored Q and walked right up to the girl. Resting her hands to the side of the bed she looked the child over again. "You are not a Vidiian are you." Janeway paused. "Who are you, who are you really?"

NX stiffened up her shoulders looking like someone who had been raised by the military rather than the man laying on the next bed. "I am a replication, a copy created by my father. He is a scientist, his job was to work on creating a cure for the phage, you know him. At least, he said you know who he is, he told me when we left that you would help us." Janeway looked back over at the man, she had never seen him before in her life, then again Vidiian's were always seeming to change their face as the phage ate away at it. "It would have been almost a year ago by now, he looked different, before they came and cured the phage. The people who tried taking me away. Father said he helped you escape a Vidiian vessel almost a year ago to save your life." The man on the bed started coming too, his eyes opening as he reached out for NX "Father." She moved off the bed and stood beside him once again taking his hand. "It's alright father I found Voyager and Captain Janeway, they will help you now father."

The Vidiian male looked up at the captain forcing a little smile across his face. "Your child, is she well?"

Hearing his voice again brought back all the memories, the same anger she had felt before but he had let her go, he had let her keep her baby. Raising a brow Kathryn kept from showing any dislike for the man. "She's well."

"This is NX117." He patted the girls hand with a smile on his face. "She's a good girl, I knew she would be, after all she's come from good blood." Looking up at Janeway there was a sort of sadness in his eyes. "She has been my daughter for the past year, it will be her first birthday next month, I couldn't ask for a better child and I couldn't be more proud." His attention turned to the girl, his eyes shinning as he looked at her. "But as you can imagine Captain from looking at her you will know she is not mind, she is not Vidiian, she's human, or at least what human DNA we could stabilize to make her. She's also yours. Maybe not the daughter you carried, the daughter you fought so hard to protect, but she is yours on a genetic level." NX was displeased with where he was going with the conversation. Pulling her hand away from him she took a step back.

"Father?"

"No, NX117, please listen to me. The way I see it is you have two options, you can go back and be destroyed or you can stay here and have a better life than I can offer you." He reached out to grab her hand but she pulled it away and backed off from him with a look of betrayal. "Captain, the DNA I collected from your child, I used to to create a near perfect copy of her, you could call her a clone though I feel that would be insulting to NX117. She is not a complete copy of your daughter, we were forced to use some genetic markers from other species to stabilize her genetic code. It seems your child is not a simple creature to duplicate. We thought our research was successful, we grew her to an age where she would be capable of understanding what was being done to her and would be young enough to trust us. As we had thought she was immune to the phage and she showed unusual properties not unlike your own child did when we confronted it. Her ability to interphase with technology, to transport her site from location to location, it was sporadic, uncontrollable. We developed a restraint device to prevent her from using her abilities, I later recalibrated it so help instead focus them. He reached out to grab her wrist and show off the device around her arm but NX pulled her arm away again and backed off from him. "I know you are angry with me NX, but these people will help you." He looked back to Janeway. "Please captain Janeway, I helped you and your daughter escape, now help mine." He started coughing, holding his hand over his chest as he tried sitting up a little more. "Our research was nearly successful, NX117 was completely immune to the phage...but we could not simply make a common cure. Because what protected her from the phage was not chemical nor biological, it was something else. Something likely inherited from the father." He glanced over at Q. "It was decided in order to continue on with a more appropriate cure for the phage she would be donated to various leaders of my world to stop the disease in their bodies. As compensation I too would be put on the donor list but I couldn't let them. I have come to love NX as I love my own daughter. I couldn't let them pull her apart."

"She shouldn't have those powers." Q interrupted and tried taking further scans of her but NX stepped away. "Amelia's abilities are not inherited on a genetic level, if you cloned or...replicated her you would get an average boring human being, not another Q. What makes Amelia part Q isn't the fact I'm her father, though she shares something resembling genetic material inherited from me, when I got Janeway...the captain...well..." He looked over at her seeing her give him that look. How was he going to say this and still be able to stay off the ready room sofa? "How do I put this...in medical terms?" Q took in a deep breath. "I took a fraction of myself and my powers and with a little spark and a fancy glow I injected that into the ovum of choice so that when conception was achieved little Amelia would be more than a human baby, she would be part Q, a process you can't just...clone."

"That might be true, but tell me, as a child who is half human, who has a set genetic structure could you not assume that even a smaller portion of what makes your daughter a Q could be transferred? Not entirely copied but transferred from an original organic sample? I said calling NX117 a clone was an understatement, she was in fact grown directly from the tissue sample we collected not copied using it. What gaps remained in your daughters DNA we closed with the DNA of other beings and samples of Captain Janeways own blood. So, could it be questioned then in the earliest stages of development what makes you a Q binds to her human DNA? Even a smaller sample of her tissue would have to have some of it permeating her cells in order to let her do what she can do."

Q thought about it for a moment, if you could grow a new Amelia from say, her finger, with that energy he had originally given her still acting as apart of her physical form. "It could happen that way, but not to the extent of what Amelia herself is capable of, since it was not a complete copy of her full power, only a fragment of it."

The Vidiian nodded his head. "And I am sure, if NX117 did have the full power of Amelia we might have never been able to do our research. As I recall your child before she was even fully formed was capable of projecting herself, was capable of making a self sustained force field, could transport herself and others from one location to another, could rearrange matter, and could blink things out of existence of which she did to multiple tools. NX117 has never shown that degree of...talent though she does have a few interesting tricks of her own, certainly nothing to scoff at."

"Father you told me with your medical tools and Voyagers medical officers you could transplant one of my organs into your body, it could stop the phage and we can find somewhere to hide, we can have a good life on another planet. You are a very smart man, you could be a doctor again and heal people, you..."

"NO, NX117, I did not risk my life and ruin my career to cut you apart, even if it means saving myself what could I truly offer you? Safety? I am not a fighter. Voyager is a safe place with good people, it moves further and further from Vidiian space every day. You will have a better life than one I could ever give to you NX, don't argue with me."

"But fa..."

He cut her off again. "I said do not argue with me." He yelled before having a coughing fit. NX wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, something no one else was likely to ever do, even other Vidiian's, even his own daughter back home. "After what happened, I can't risk it. You could have died." He ran his hand over her face and smiled at her again. "I have lived a good long life, accomplished many things. You have only just begun to see the universe. I can't take that from you." NX closed her eyes letting tears stream down her face. "I will stay with you until the end. You have nothing to fear."

"What if I'm afraid of losing you?"

"Then it is a fear you will conquer like all other fears."


	42. Who Am I

NX looked out the window at the stars, her attention wandering from star to star as she tried to map them out in her mind. "Care for some company?" Janeway walked up to her resting a hand on NX's shoulder only to be shrugged off.

"No." She continued to look out the window, her face twisting with a look of annoyance. "I'm waiting for my father, he's in sickbay again." She turned her chin up catching Janeway's reflection in the window. Slowly NX looked back to Janeway and studied her for a moment. She wasn't walking away. "Don't you have a daughter of your own to look after?"

Janeway nodded her head. "Well, yes I do but she's with her father right now, besides you looked like you needed someone to talk to."

NX nodded her head in agreement. "You are right, I do. I'll speak with my father once he is out of sickbay." NX pulled her hands behind her back and looked back at Janeway noticing the captain had already been doing the same. "Why do you look so much like me?" NX asked fixing her eyes at Janeway with a very grown up look on her face.

"Well, you are my daughter after all, or..." She stopped for a moment, calling her a copy or a clone of Amelia didn't seem fair. She didn't seem to have the same personality as Amelia, at least what personality she knew Amelia had. Her daughter was more playful, friendly, liked to smile. NX was more serious and strict.

"You are wrong captain, I am not your daughter, I am an imitation of your daughter. A poor one from what your Q has said, a lesser copy."

"Well that was rude of him." She gave her a little smile. "You are not just a copy NX. You are an individual, you know something natural occurs similar to you, not quite the time difference but there is such a thing as identical twins, not very common where two babies are born who are completely genetically identical but they are not the same person. They develop separate personalities, different likes and dislikes."

"But I was not born, I was created in a lab." NX pointed out.

"Should that matter?"

"So why do I look like you?" NX asked again.

"You are, genetically my daughter, it's understandable that you would look like me. Amelia looks like me."

NX turned back to window. "I look like Amelia, just like Amelia, Amelia looks like you because you are her mother. I know a great deal about genetics, I helped work in my fathers lab with him. I also observed the conversation Q had with him, his explanation for my powers. My father constructed my genetic codes and you gave your genetic codes to Amelia, and Amelia gave me her powers and Q gave Amelia her powers. So then it is to my understanding that Amelia is my mother and not you." NX looked back to Kathryn. "So you are wrong Captain Janeway, you are still not my mother." The girl let out a little sigh. "I always wanted to know who my mother was. I guess I'm just, disappointed. Father has always told me what I am, he never lied to me about where I came from. On my home world, on my fathers home world I was the only one like me, on Voyager I'm not, I'm a shadow of Amelia."

Janeway crouched down a little so she was more at NX's height. "Then don't be her shadow." Perhaps NX was more like Amelia than she had thought. When Janeway had met Captain Amelia she had been obsessed with being just like the legendary Captain Kathryn Janeway. Never able to 'live up' to the expectation she thought everyone expected of her. Resting her hands on both of NX's shoulders Janeway looked her in the eye. "Just be you." Janeway looked out the window herself now. "Maybe you would enjoy the astrometrics lab if you enjoy stars. At least until your father comes back."

NX narrowed her eyes and looked at Janeway, she didn't trust the woman that much honestly. Not because Janeway had given NX a reason to not trust her, she just knew her father was going to dump her here. Leave her in the care of these strangers and this Janeway. He had pushed her all her short life to be curious of Janeway and Q but NX had never cared much about people who were almost fictional to her until yesterday. "Captain Janeway, are you taking interest in me only because my father is leaving me in your care or because we appear to share genetic similarities?"

Janeway looked the girl over again, she acted rather mature for her age. "I like to get to know all the members of my crew. Since it seems you are going to become apart of this crew it's a good idea to know you better."

"So, it has nothing to do with a maternal attachment then?" Janeway couldn't help but feel like she was being tested.

"It might play a part." NX lifted her chin and gave a little nod of her head as she went over the captains answer.

"Interesting." NX finally commented before reaching her hand out to grab the Captains. "Show me the astrometrics lab then?" Janeway wasn't the expert on children but she knew NX was not a normal child outside of the obvious. Being a replica of her daughter and a mortal who possessed some Q powers. She was rather nervous taking the girls hand in her own and leading her down to asterometrics. Even though Seven wasn't keen on children at least Seven had the dry personality to deal with a child who's personality seemed rather, dry in it's own right.

Once in astrometrics NX seemed rather excited to look over the data they had collected on their trip. Seven pointed out many of the anomalies they had encountered and their high risks, the danger the captain had put the ship and crew in for the sake of human curiosity and for the first time NX said something that actually surprised Janeway. "Sometimes Seven you must take a risk to expand your views. Understanding the universe is primary to any scientist or explorer."

"And you consider yourself an explorer NX117." Seven had no problem calling her by her 'designation'. Janeway herself wondered why the Vidiian never had given her a proper name in the 11 months he had looked after her but Seven never questioned the child's designation. Borg did not have names, it made sense that neither would a being created in a lab.

"I have been an explorer and a scientist since the day I was born." NX smiled and looked over the data taken from one of the nebula's near Krenim territory. "Father said I was always curious about everything and always trying to leave the lab. I wanted to see the rest of the world I was born on, I wanted to see the stars beyond my head, I wanted to go outside. Now that I am out I never want to go back, I want to keep exploring, keep learning, keep seeing everything."

"You sound like the captain." Seven commented holding her hands behind her back and pulling out a negative reaction from the girl. Her eyes flashing over to Seven and then to the PADD in her hands. Despite her obvious dislike for being compared to the captain NX finally relaxed and let a brief smile slip by.

"What is she like?" NX looked behind her to make sure the captain wasn't coming back any time soon.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I guess..." Nx paused looking back down at the PADD then back to Seven. "I suppose it's because we share a genetic similarities." She screened down on the PADD "It might help me understand better who I am then, if I know more about where I came from." Perhaps she was as curious about Captain Janeway as the Captain was curious about her. Her next question however proved their was someone she was even more curious about. "What about Amelia? What is she like? Do you think I would be allowed to meet her?"

"I do not see why not." Seven responded. "If you are to spend the rest of our journey back to earth on Voyager you will have to coexist with Amelia just like the rest of us."

"I don't, want to coexist with Amelia..." She paused looking back to Seven. "I want her to like me."

"Then that shall be easy, she is a baby, easy to please. You can be very successful in making her like you with strange voices or unusual faces."

NX didn't seem highly amused by the joke, of course she didn't realize Seven had been completely sincere about her answer either. "I meant, make her like me beyond a simple joke or gag." NX glanced back to her PADD. "If I am copied from her then we must be alike somehow." Setting the PADD down NX turned to Seven in full and placed her hands behind her back. "Janeway told me to think of her as my mother, but I don't think of her as my mother. I think of Amelia as my mother."

Seven raised a brow. "That must be uncomfortable for you, since Amelia is younger than you are."

"But she has existed longer than I have and it was from her that they grew me." NX lowered her head. "But perhaps I can try to change my views and see Amelia as a sister. I waited my whole lifetime to meet her, I just, I want her to like me."


	43. Family

Janeway had been making more of an attempt to be around NX which was a fairly easy task so long as she had Amelia, Q on the other hand, well he wasn't coming around to the idea of NX being there. She had to admit it was a little nice sitting in her ready room with Amelia and NX watching from behind her desk with a smile as the baby managed to coax smiled from the more serious girl. NX sat there fiddling with the device on her arm, she couldn't make things appear as a Q could, she couldn't change things from one shape to another like a Q could but as the Vidiian scientist had said she was more than capable of some interesting feats that Amelia had yet to master. One of those feats being the little light show she was amusing Amelia with. NX ran her fingers over the controls of her device and giggle as Amelia smiled at the sparkling light in her hands flickering in and out of sight. "I bet this is child's play to you Amelia, I would like to see what you can do." NX giggled and looked at the baby almost waiting for a display. Amelia just waved her arms before going back to sucking on her fist and watching NX close her hand so the light went away.

"I don't think Amelia has such control as you do just yet NX. Once she does she might be more than happy to show off to you." Janeway rested her elbow on her desk and set her chin in her hand as she watched the two girls. She still didn't like calling the girl NX and if she was a little closer to her she may have suggested a name change but NX was by all means a daddy's girl and their Vidiian guest was her father. His health was failing him, every day he got weaker, the phage eating away at his vital organs. The doctor hadn't given a time frame but the Vidiian scientist didn't have long left. It weighed heavily on NX, every time she was around her 'father' she helped him get around holding a pained smile on her face. It seemed as much as he wanted his daughter around him he would only push her away, perhaps hoping NX would start to gain trust in the crew of Voyager. "Since you seem to have fairly good control of your abilities you can teach her, Q doesn't have his powers anymore. She could use a teacher."

NX looked back down at Amelia and then to the device on her arm. "No, I don't really have control of my abilities, this has control of my abilities." She motioned to her 'restraint'. After all that was what they had called it, that was what it had been meant for. "Before this things happened without me wanting them to happen, like a reflex. I was...I was afraid of them." She paused looking back at Amelia. "She doesn't need a restraint, I bet one day she will be the one teaching me how to control this gift I got from her." To be honest no one knew what Amelia herself was capable of just yet. Janeway hadn't thought of asking Captain Amelia while she was here just what the girl had been able to do. Q seemed to think at some point Amelia would be just like any other Q aside from the fact she had parents. If that were the case then Janeway could understand how it was hard in the future for Amelia to remain among humans. The temptation to be with her own kind very well could drive Amelia to leave her one day in favor of the company of Q's. Maybe when that day came NX would make the pain a little more bearable.

"Tuvok may be able to help you control them, without your restraint." He had been helping Kes with her own abilities, teaching her to expand upon them and focus them. It was not out of the question that he could help NX.

"He could?" She seemed rather excited, the pitch of her voice raising almost a full octave as she showed a childish joy Janeway hadn't seen from her before. "I would appreciate it if he could help me."

"I'll talk to him about it then, arrange a time he can sit down and work with you."

"Thank you, Janeway." NX still wouldn't call her anything other than Janeway but it was a small step in progress. NX raised her hand again and tampered with her controls as Janeway picked up her PADD and started writing again. It would be easy enough to 'hack' the PADD and read what the captain was working on but her father had assured her that was rude and even after he was gone he would not tolerate rudeness from his daughter. "Captain Janeway, what are you working on? A report?"

Looking back up from her PADD Janeway smiled at her. "Of sorts, I'm updating my letter."

"A letter to whom?" NX asked a little curious now.

"To my family and friends, should we ever come into contact with earth."

"Oh." NX looked back at Amelia and picked up her stuffed dog waving it over Amelia's face before her curiosity came back to her. "What are you saying to your family?"

It was nice NX had interest in something other than her fathers condition. Janeway even considered getting her into a hobby of some sort but they were taking it slow. NX hadn't grown up in the most child friendly environment. "I told them that I am alive and well, told the Federation Voyager's current status, our position in the Delta Quadrant, the crew and current advancements we have acquired, our attempts to find worm holes and other means to return home. Then in another letter to my family I told them I miss them, that I love them and think of them every day, about Amelia."

"Oh." NX interrupted.

"Unless my sister got married and had children in the past three years Amelia is my mothers first grandchild."

"Is that important where you come from?" NX asked cocking her head to the side.

"Well, it certainly is to my mother." She smiled back, her mother would have given anything to meet Amelia. Janeway hoped they would get home in time to make that a reality. "I also mentioned Q and the fact we are engaged."

NX interrupted again. "Is that important?"

The thought of Mark crossed her mind, part of her had wanted to leave that detail out but with Amelia she knew Mark was no longer an option in her life. Besides she had grown close to Q despite those days he made her regret her choice to have let him stay on Voyager. "Yes, it is important, at least to me. I want them to know what has happened in my life since coming to the delta quadrant." Working on the letter a little more Janeway peeked back over the PADD and smiled at NX again. "And I am adding information on you." NX looked up holding back a smile. She didn't say a word but Janeway could tell she was particularly curious about it. "After all NX, you are apart of my family no matter what you may consider me and when we get back to Earth I'll expect you to be there with us. With Amelia, Q, and myself."

NX straightened up her back and sat up more trying to reestablish her regal form, hardly a difficult task as a fair share of her traits mirrored the captains. "Family? Who would be my family? I mean back on Earth, would they want me in your family?"

"I believe they would, they grew you from Amelia's DNA which makes you a lot like her and because of it you are related to Q and I. If you would want my mother would be your grandmother, my sister Phoebe would be your aunt, Amelia would be your sister, Q your father, and I could be your mother." The words made NX cringe a little. She appreciated what Janeway wanted to do for her, make her feel like she belonged but honestly NX didn't feel for Janeway the way she felt for her father. That bond, that need to please her, that need to care what she thought. Janeway wasn't her guardian, her sanctuary in the storm, she simply was a kind person in her mind. Thinking of Janeway as her mother felt strange, alien but for some reason she felt closer to Amelia. It might have been whatever they had taken from Amelia trying to return to it's proper place. Her power, her 'soul'. Amelia may have been only a baby herself but NX felt a deep connection to her, a pulse in the back of her eyes that drew her to the young Q, a hum in her mind that had caught her attention from the moment she had boarded Voyager. When her father had spoken of Janeway NX had listened with interest about this Starfleet captain of great authority and courage, yet when he had spoken of the subject from where her genes were derived NX had pictured a person in her mind, a person who didn't really exist yet but perhaps it was a person genetically imprinted onto her, a memory of someone who would be, of someone who had given her an order and a reason for her existence. She always thought that imprinted image, that 'voice' that memory had been Amelia calling to her to come 'home'. From the very moment she had taken her first breath that one thing had always been there, come home. Now that she was here she would wait, she would wait until Amelia has something to 'say'. She may only be a baby but she was still a Q and seemed to have an awareness beyond the humans on the ship.

"I would like that, I think. I mean to be apart of a family. Perhaps your family if you want me." NX paused and smiled a little. "Would I be NX Janeway then? Like Amelia's last name?"

"Yes that would make you a Janeway." She paused looking at the girl with a sort of discomfort. "NX117 isn't a very good name though."

"That's because it wasn't a name, it was the index code for the project that created me. I don't have a real name." NX hadn't been called by a name, in the lab it would have been inappropriate and after she and her father had escaped he was so use to calling her by her index number that he hadn't bothered to name her. "How do I acquire a name?"

"Usually your parents are the ones who give you a name." It felt a little like in insult to NX, her father hadn't given her a name. Quickly her eyes flickered to Amelia wondering if the baby was even capable of giving her a name. She certainly knew if Amelia gave her a name, no matter how silly she would wear it with pride.

"You gave Amelia her name then?" Janeway nodded her head. NX let out a deep sigh, her eyes glancing around the floor as if looking for something. "Can, can you give me a name then? As you have said...if I were in your family you would be my...mother." The words still felt strange in her mouth. Her parent had always been her father, no one else could replace her father, she loved him with all her heart.

"I would..." Janeway paused a moment a little surprise NX had asked her to give her a name. "I would be honored to name you."

NX perked up a little once more. Crossing her legs she rested her hands in her lap and scooted a little closer to her desk. "What shall be my name then?"

Janeway was surprise again, she had only just been asked to give her a name, she didn't think she would have to call her something right now. "Well." She thought about the other names she had thought of before they had settled on Amelia's name but none of them fit NX for the same reason they wouldn't fit Amelia. Janeway then turned to the one name that had fit Amelia, of course the name she had now. There couldn't be two Amelia's but she could think of a name close to it. Q was fond of calling Amelia Amy, trying to draw inspiration from that gave Janeway a somewhat good idea of where to start with names. "Emily." The name just rolled off the tip of her tongue. She knew once she had said it she couldn't take it back, even if she didn't like the name it was stuck now. Young NX titling her head to the side and seeming to mouth the name over and over to herself.

"Emily, I like it." She took in a deep breath after saying her name. "Emily." She repeated with a smile.

Janeway was pleased the girl liked the name, it was a fairly pretty name and as Amelia fit her daughter Emily fit NX. "I'm happy you like it, Emily Janeway." It had a nicer ring to it than NX117. The beep of her intercom interrupted her before she could say anything else, the sound of the doctors voice caught her attention.

"Captain, can you report to sickbay? Bring NX117, it's Nefri the Vidiian doctor." NX looked away from Janeway quickly, her attention seeming to drift away as she stood up with haste.

"Father?" NX, Emily turned to look back at the captain, the concern clear in her tone. "You have to bring me there Captain. I must help my father."

Janeway had picked up Amelia and walked Emily to sickbay. The girl refused to speak to her almost falling back into square one with her all over again as she rushed to the sickbays door. Running inside Emily looked over at her father laid out over one of the beds, the scanner enclosing him to the biobed as he laid there in critical condition. "Father." Emily screamed rushing to his side and taking his hand. "Father you're dying." Looking over his face she raised her wrist and ran her fingers over her restraint disobeying his will as she hacked into the medical scanners over his bed. "Your kidneys are failing, your lungs are no longer working properly. Father I can donate a kidney and a lung to you, I can save you."

He turned to look at her, too weak to yell. "No NX, you can't because I will not allow it. You must let me go, my time has come. It's time for you to look to the captain and Q for guidance now. May you thrive and grow to be everything I dreamed you to become." He let a little smile cross over his cracked lips Before turning his face away from her. "You have already given me more than I could ever ask for NX. You saved my daughters life, you sacrificed your own to give her a piece of yourself. I will never look to you to give more for my sake. Especially when it could cost you your own life."

Emily smiled at him. "Livers are the most resilient organ in the human body, it was hardly a sacrifice for me. Nothing is a sacrifice when it makes you happy father."

He turned to look at her again, moving to grab his hand. "NX." He paused looking her in the eye again. "You are not my daughter." Emily pulled her hand from his and looked at him. Why did he say that? Of course he was her father, he made her. "My real daughter will live a healthy life because of you, and you will live a happy life because of me. With your real mother and father." He glanced back to Janeway and Q. "I promised I would find a place for you to belong. I kept my promise. It's time to let me go." He started coughing, Emily's eyes widening as his chest slowly came to a halt.

"Father?" She called to him, no answer given. "Father?" Emily took his hand shaking him lightly before she realized he was gone. "Goodbye father."


	44. Over a Game of Velocity

Dealing with Emily after her father had died hadn't been the easiest. She had given her a few days alone but even now the girl had a short temper. You couldn't talk to her, you couldn't comfort her without Emily snapping. It was something different from her usual calm and collected attitude. Still Janeway was trying to make her feel better, Emily was a remarkable child, she had advanced knowledge in both medical procedures and scientific research that had been done in the labs around her. Her perception was astonishing and yet there was an even more disturbing fact. Emily seemed to have had military training as well and the suite she had boarded Voyager in only seemed to add to Janeway's curiosity. It certainly had been built with military purpose in mind. So unless the Vidiian's were partial to having child solders this uniform had been built specifically for Emily. When faced with the girl you couldn't ask her anything out right. Not without her walking away, but Janeway had an activity planed to both get her mind off the lose of her father and perhaps even raise the question of just what she might have learned in her year at the Vidiian's home world.

"Velocity, it's a game of sorts."She handed her one of the velocity phasers with a smile. "You use this to fire at an attacking disk, each time you hit it the disk changes it's target to the other player. The game ends when a player fails to hit the disk before it strikes them." Emily took the phaser with some reluctance and looked it over.

"A combat game?" Emily asked with ah air of concern. "I will not participate in combat games, I will not be made a weapon. My father made me in the hopes I could save lives, not destroy them." Emily handed the phaser back to Janeway and started walking away from her.

"So they did train you for combat." Emily stopped in her tracks and turned back to the captain. Her eyes lowering a moment as she let the captains question sink in.

"When they realized I would not produce a cure for the phage they looked to apply my other talents to different purposes. The potential of making me a perfect candidate to collect a healthy supply of viable organ donors was considered. I was put into training, they found my physical abilities to be far superior to what they had observed from the humans aboard Voyager. The program was canceled when they discovered my organs could still benefit many choice officials both political and scientific people. I was unable to finish any of my full training, my father said it was best, I am not a weapon and you captain will not make me a weapon either."

Things could have gone better, she had lost the title of Janeway and had back stepped back to being called captain. "I have no intentions of making you a weapon Emily, you're a little girl, you deserve to be a little girl just like Naomi and Amelia." She refrained from using the word normal since even Amelia herself wasn't normal. "And I would be lying if I said I didn't have other motives to bringing you here and playing a few rounds of velocity with you." Emily looked back at the captain narrowing her eyes with an air of suspicion about her. "It's no secret I have been wanting to spend a little more one on one time with you." Janeway smiled at the girl and went to hand her back the phaser for the game. "We could always pick another game to play as well, if you would like that better." Emily glanced back at the phaser in Janeway's hand and reluctantly took it. Her eyes fixed on the 'weapon' for a while, if this was only to be fired at a disk then she would play, for now. Nodding her head in agreement Janeway gave her a little smile. "Computer, velocity, first round." Almost instantly the disk appeared changing colors between blue and orange as it moved between them trying to decide who to attack. When the disk came for Janeway she fired on it turning the light a bright orange and sending it towards Emily.

Quickly the girl jumped back ducking down as the disk flew at her chest. Rolling across the ground she fired on it hitting it in the side and watching it light up a bright blue. It quickly moved towards Janeway who fired at it with great ease and made the disk fly back to Emily. For a while they did a rapid back and forth until the disk flew around the back of Emily's head after she had hit it and rushed at Janeway once again. Thinking the captain would fail to catch it in time she relaxed only to have Kathryn fire on it and send it rapidly back to Emily. With another shot and Janeway's quick shot after hers the disk flew into Emily striking her in the chest and causing more alarm than pain. "Point one to Janeway." The computer called out when Emily fell back on the ground a little startled.

"Are you alright?" She walked over helping Emily back off the ground.

"I don't know." She seemed afraid and yet at the same time there was another look on her face, a spark in her eye.

"You did fairly well keeping up with me, not many others can."

Emily brushed herself off a little and straightened her back. "I have faster reflexes than you do, my instincts to react to your own movements are also superior. I am able to predict patterns made by the disk." She lowered the phaser in her hand still feeling a rush of something, adrenaline maybe? "But I am not nearly as disciplined as you are Janeway." Most of what she had used had been pure instinct and what training she had acquired.

"From the looks of it one day you'll be more than capable of defending yourself if the occasion arises."

"Again" Emily panted pulling a smile on her face.

"Computer, round two." Emily got ready to fire at the disk almost as quickly as it appeared this time. The volley of shots had begun, the disk switching colors almost as rapidly as it had from the beginning of the game. Understanding the game and the goal a little better Emily noticed she could move a little more effortlessly. A few more volleys and Emily had found herself tripping up again, her feet slipping out from under her as the disk came spiraling down at her head. Closing her eyes she waited for those words to reach her ears again

"Two points Janeway."

"I don't like this game Captain Janeway." Emily spoke up and set the phaser down, she looked like she had seen a ghost. Her hands were shaking a little as she stood back up and turned her back on the captain. "I decided I don't like shooting at things after all. It doesn't feel right, even if it is just a disk." Her mind wandered to the combat 'games' the Vidiians had made her play. Those games had seemed fun too at first, until they stopped being fun and only made her afraid. She looked down at her restraint fiddling with it a little and making sure it was still working, that it hadn't been damaged in the fall. "Make me a promise Captain Janeway." She turned to look at the captain again. "Don't even let me hold a weapon again, even to defend myself, for your own good."


	45. Origin

"An impressive observation." Seven spoke up looking over some of the star maps they had gathered in their travels. "You seem to know a great deal about this star system."

"I grew up in a science lab, there wasn't much else to do other than learn." Emily used her restraint to swipe through the maps at an alarming speed and pick out something she found of interest. "You were a borg, you lived aboard a Borg cube didn't you. When you were Borg you were not an individual but now you are. I was grown in a lab, in a biocell and stepped out this age. When I woke up I was not an individual but the captain seems to think I am. I was one of many like you were."

"One of many?" Seven turned to NX117, she still called Emily by her original name or designation. Where the captain felt giving her a normal human name would help Emily better embrace her life on Voyager Seven felt it would only deny her the past. NX was not a human child as Janeway liked to think, she wasn't a Q either, she was a lab rat, an experiment. She was neither Amelia nor Janeway and Q's daughter. Seven knew NX for what she really was and to be honest she didn't much care.

"I am not the first copy of a species they believed could bring them a cure for the phage and I was not the last copy of Amelia. I simply was the only one immune to the phage virus." Emily paused pulling up the image of a nebula 6 light years from their current position. "Either others were made after me, it was the first time I realized I was not...real. My father never told me lies about my origin but looking into those biocells I saw myself by eight times. The only difference was as Q had mentioned even copied directly from DNA tissue taken from myself they ended up all human and were taken to organ processing."

"Then in your survival you are unique." Emily furrowed her brow, Seven was starting to sound like the captain.

"Until I met Amelia. I am no longer unique now."

"You are still unique, your powers are far more inferior than her own." That was meant to be a compliment. It proved in Seven's mind that NX wasn't even an exact copy of Amelia. In NX's mind she had only heard Seven call her an inferior copy which seemed to be the truth. "I have met Captain Amelia Janeway from a future timeline, you are not like her." That seemed to peak Emily's interest, she had chased her 'origin' in her dreams only to be let down. Perhaps now she could finally get the chance to understand Amelia.

"Amelia, she became a captain like Captain Janeway?"

"In that time line, yes, Amelia was her timelines Captain Janeway."

Emily found that interesting, she always imagined Amelia would be more like her, now she was being told that she was more like captain Janeway. At least this is what she understood. Maybe her original reluctance to be around Janeway was a poor choice. If Amelia would become like Janeway then what would make Captain Janeway proud of her would one day make Amelia proud of her. "What was she like? I mean Captain Amelia. Did she mention anything about me?"

Seven turned to look at NX realizing the girl was interested in more than star maps. "She was, distracted, concerned mostly for the crew of Voyager and Captain Janeway's safety. She made no mention of you, there is also a possibility that in her timeline she had never encountered you. The timeline has likely changed greatly since then." It was even possible for their Amelia to never become a starfleet captain, unlikely but possible. Seven used what she knew from discovering her own past and learning 'who' she was to aid NX or Emily in learning who she was. "It's seems you have interest in what the Captain calls, heritage."

"Heritage? What is heritage?" Emily was genuinely intrigued by this.

"It is the genial research of your genetic background."

Tilting her head to the side Emily took a moment to digest this information. "How do I go about researching my heritage?"

"I believe you should consult the captain first, after all you will require access to her files. As your parental guardian she should be more lenient towards you."

Emily furrowed her brow and looked away from Seven. "Is it unusual that I feel no attachment to Captain Janeway?"

"You developed an attachment to your Vidiian handler, it is not at all unusual."

Emily pulled her arms behind her back and looked back up. "I mean, I am more attached to Amelia."

As Amelia's godmother it was her 'duty' to guide and protect the captains offspring. "Amelia is only five months old." She caught that look of hurt in Emily's eyes. "But in these circumstances, I can see why. She was your progenitor, not only through DNA but because it was Amelia's choice to offer it up in exchange for her freedom. Amelia's choice was direct cause of your creation. As Janeway was the direct cause of her creation."

"I hope one day I can view Janeway the way I viewed my father." Emily shrugged her shoulders. "I should talk to the captain about looking into my heritage then."

Janeway had been kind enough to download information onto a PADD for her, so far she had learned many things about the captain and her 'heritage'. The fact that captain Janeway's father was a starfleet Admiral, that on Earth she hailed from mostly Irish bloodline, apparently a people located on a small island territory, and Hungarian, a European people. Her 'family' had been involved in space travel for generations and it seemed she had deep root in the federation. Though it explained her genetic history it still did not tell her who she was, though Captain Janeway seemed pleased she had dove into this study. Finishing her first collection of data on Janeways bloodline she finally glanced over the very short records of ensign Q. It seemed unlike Janeway he had no bloodline of his own, Amelia and herself being the first Q children to ever be created. At least Amelia anyways, Emily wasn't quite Q herself, merely human with Q capabilities and rather limited at that. "This is disturbing..." Emily walked across the captains living quarters and back towards Captain Janeway and Amelia.

"Well, I always knew my aunt wasn't conventional but disturbing wasn't a word I would have used."

"The information on the Q is, deplorable." Awfully big words for a little girl. "And there are several Starfleet officers, am I expected to join starfleet as well?"

"Not much is known about the Q and the Q Continuum, everything we know about them is on that PADD but if you would like more information I am certain Q would help you." She smiled a little when she asked if she would have to join starfleet, it seemed Emily wasn't as eager to join Starfleet as Naomi was. "It's not a requirement, my sister didn't join Starfleet. You can grow up to be whatever you like Emily."

Emily set down the PADD and decided to play at a joke herself. Her father had been notorious for jokes. "Good, I want to be a dancer, with my enhanced agility, reflexes, and your inherited interest in dance I could be a superior dancer." Emily smiled at the captain a moment, unable to hide a lie as well as her father could. Even a little lie. "Though I think work in the scientific field would be more to my liking. I want to be a doctor like my father, perhaps Voyagers doctor can give me lessons. When we get back to earth I can take up a position at a hospital."

Janeway laughed at her idea of what she might be doing once they reached Earth. In fact until that moment it didn't seem Emily cared much about the 'journey' home but she was starting to become more, human. "Well you certainly would be the youngest doctor on earth, maybe you can work with your father, Q." Emily hadn't been speaking of Q when she had mentioned wanting to be a doctor like her father but she had just realized that her biological father Q worked in sickbay.

"So it seems as Seven mentioned, you can not escape your genetic destiny. Amelia will be a starfleet captain like her mother, and I shall be a doctor like my father." Emily nodded her head and looked at Amelia with a little smile. "Perhaps one day even, I'll be the doctor on her ship. Are sisters allowed to serve on the same ship?"

Janeway's expression showed the answer already but having Emily consider Amelia her sister was certainly a step in the right direction. "Ordinarily no, and if you wanted to be a doctor on a starship you would have to join starfleet, but even then they would put you on different ships. Children are not allowed to serve under a captain who is their parents and siblings are not allowed to serve on a starship under their brother or sister, however you could serve on the same ship under another captain." Emily was hopeful for that answer. It might be fun to work with Amelia one day on a starship, she knew there was another set of identical twins who worked here on Voyager. Even if Emily was aged more rapidly than Amelia they were still genetically identical therefore an identical 'twin'.

"What about serving under you? If it takes a long time to get back to earth I might have to serve under you as my captain then, and you are my, my mother, I suppose." She did have a point with that, Janeway hadn't expected for Vogyager to be a generational ship but if they could not find a shortcut back then Naomi, Amelia, and Emily just might end up serving under her and in a worse case scenario one day even replacing her.

"If it takes us that long to get back to Earth, but then you can't expect special treatment on the crew either, neither you nor Amelia could."

"My father never would have given me special treatment either. He would have wanted me to work as hard as anyone else on his team. I expect nothing less from you Captain Janeway."


	46. Emily Janeway

"Are you certain it's safe?"Emily asked as the strange animal swung it's head towards her and made her jump back in fear. "This animal is much larger than Rowley." She looked closer at it's mouth "Does it bite?" Emily looked down under the animal. "Is it a boy or a girl?" Amelia was giggling almost more at Emily than just random baby giggles. "Stop that Amy, it's not funny. It's not as if you are the one who has to ride it." Emily snapped at her younger 'sister'.

"It's perfectly safe, I programmed this pony to have the same personality as the one I road as a young girl. His name was Pepper, a man named Mr. Wilks owned him, he kept a lot of horses but none as sweet as Pepper. I use to go to his farm every weekend to ride Pepper and brush him." Janeway patted the bay pony on the neck. "Never bit anyone in all his life."

Emily looked back at the pony a little less afraid of the animal now. Walking up she copied Janeway and patted Pepper on the neck. "He's very soft." Moving her hand to Pepper's shoulder she looked back to the captain. "If we got back to earth soon, would I be able to meet the real Pepper?"

Janeway let out a little sigh as the pony snorted. "Afraid not, he passed away of old age while I was attending Starfleet academy."

"Captain." Neelix's voice came over the com system turning everyone's attention to him. "Your presence is requested in the mess hall."

"Computer, end holodeck program Emily 1." Janeway ordered as the pony faded away along with the farmyard around them. For a moment Emily stood there with her hand raised awkwardly in the air petting nothing before she lowered her hand with a look of disappointment. "Come on Emily, you can be my backup, if Neelix tries getting me to help him plan another party on the holodeck you can swoop in and rescue me." Janeway smiled at the girl and walked over to pick up Amelia from the blanket she had been laying on.

Giving the captain a salute Emily gave a nod of her head. "Affirmative Captain." It was good to see Emily acting a little more her age and enjoying her time on Voyager. Emily followed behind the captain almost walking in her shadow. Lately it had been useful to have Emily spend more time with Naomi Wildman, some things an adult couldn't teach a child, one of those things being how to be a child. "Why would Neelix need you in the mess hall?" Emily asked holding her hands behind her back and clasping her wrist with her other hand much like Janeway did when she walked the halls. "And what would he need you for?"

"I don't know, I suppose that is what we shall find out." Kathryn spoke back to her.

"Don't you think he could have spoken to commander Chakotay about whatever it is?"

"It might be something important, I'm the captain after all, if he wants to do anything to improve the mess hall or change my ship he has to ask me."

"He could write a request and have you approve it? Formal requests are preferred since captains can be busy."

"And you ask a lot of questions don't you." She laughed as Emily picked up her face to walk beside the captain, her legs having to move a bit faster to keep up with an adults longer stride.

"I guess I get it from you." Emily smiled as she continued to match her own pace with the captains. They were very close to the mess hall now, Emily's attention falling to door ahead of them. "I feel inclined to agree with Amelia." Emily finally spoke up with a smile.

"I see your lessons with Tuvok have been going well."

Emily nodded her head again. "I still need the restraint to control my abilities at their fullest but I am able to finally hear Amelia's point of view on things. Did you know in the continuum Q only speak with their minds? I probably can't talk to normal Q's like Amelia can but I can talk to her and right now she says this seems a bit suspicious. I am inclined to agree with her. She would know better than me after all."

"Oh does she now?" Janeway looked at Amelia, the baby's big green eyes looking up at her mother. "I think Amelia is paranoid." Pausing in front of the mess hall door Janeway looked back down at Emily. "There is nothing to be concerned about. Believe me, as captain of the ship nothing happens without my permission." She smiled as the door slid open and the two stepped inside only to have Emily jump back and grab onto Janway's free hand.

"Surprise." The large group of crew members shouted as Emily clung to Janeway watching them with a wide emerald gaze.

"Happy Birthday." A familiar voice spoke out from the group and stepped forward holding a purple cake. It was Neelix, what was the meaning of all this?

Looking back up to Janeway Emily let her hand go and tried to straighten herself out again. "What's this?" Emily asked seeming rather confused by this whole situation.

"It's your birthday today, after looking over some records your father had left us I discovered this was the day they took you out of the biocell they grew you in, the day you were born. A birthday is a day celebrated by most species every year, on the day you came into the world. So Emily, it looks like today is your first birthday."

Emily looked back at the group of people filling the mess hall. She had heard of birthdays before, her father had left her one day to go home and celebrate his real daughters birthday. Emily guessed she didn't have a birthday since she wasn't a 'real' person and hadn't had real parents. Apparently now she was a real person, with real parents, and a real birthday. "I, I don't know what to say." Emily muttered feeling a little shy.

"How about you blow out your candle and make a wish." She watched the little girl look back at her and furrow her brow. "It's an earth custom." Emily looked at Janeway one last time before sheepishly walking over to Neelix and the bright purple cake with the single candle sticking out of the top. Emily paused as she stood in front of him and looked around at everyone as they watched her. This was rather nerve racking, she had never had this many people looking at her in all her life, which according to today had only been one year as of now.

"Go ahead, take a deep breath." Neelix spoke to her with a big smile. Taking in a deep and perhaps overly dramatic breath Emily puffed up her cheeks and blew the candle out with ease, jumping back from the cake as everyone started clapping. Why were they so impressed over something as simple as blowing out a fire? She wasn't certain she understood this earth custom. "As birthday girl you get the first slice." Neelix spoke up again and set the cake down on a table. "We didn't know what your favorite cake was so I went with one of my personal favorites, it's called red velvet cake." He smiled as he cut into the cake. "And Naomi here mentioned you liked the color purple."

Emily smiled and looked over at Naomi. "Thank you Naomi." Walking over to the table she nodded at Neelix. "I don't think I have ever had cake before."

Putting her slice on a plate he handed it off to her with a fork. "Well I hope you like it then."

Q pulled out a chair for Emily over at another table and waited for her to sit down before pushing her into place. "I see Kathy was able to keep you distracted long enough for us to get this put together."

Emily felt strange being the center of attention, it was uncomfortable for her but she tried to be happy. "We were playing with a pony named Pepper on the holodeck." Emily took a bite of her cake and shifted in her chair a little.

"We should have gotten coffee flavored for her, oh wait that is going to be Amelia." Q joked as Emily slowly got around to scarfing down the cake. "Slow down their Em, you are going to choke yourself."

"This is good...can I have more?" She finally cake up for air with half her slice already gone."

"I think one is enough for you, you haven't had that many sweets, you could get sick." Janeway mentioned always acting as the responsible parent.

"Eh, it's her birthday, let her eat cake I say." Q answered back. "If she gets sick the doc is right over there."

"Does Amelia get cake too?" Emily asked looking over at you younger 'sister' or twin 'sister', it wasn't very clear.

"She's a little too young yet to eat cake." Janeway replied.

Emily got a big smile on her face then, "I can eat her slice then."

"Looks like someone is enjoying her cake." Neelix added with a smile.

"Just a little too much." Janeway commented taking a slice for herself as it was handed to her by Neelix. By now Emily had already cleared her plate and scraped off whatever frosting was left. She couldn't help but crack a little smile, glancing back at Emily with purple colored lips as she sucked on her fork to get whatever sugar was left. Honestly this had been only the second time she had something overly sweet in her life, the first time being when Janeway replicated her some coffee ice cream to eat after Emily showed interest in what the captain had been eating. Of all the things Emily would hate it had been coffee ice cream, her own flesh and blood. "You have something on your face right there." Janeway pointed towards Emily's purple stained lips. Almost instantly the little girl was brushing her sleeve over her mouth, a habit she had before coming to Voyager. Clearly using napkins wasn't common in those Vidiian labs, or Q was correct and it was just a byproduct of Emily being a little girl. "I think you got it." She laughed still watching Emily brush her sleeve over her lips a few more times just to be sure.

Amelia turned her attention to Janeway while her mother ate her slice of cake looking rather envious of all the older people and their ability to chew food with teeth. Her eyes flickered over to her 'sister' Emily, the girl snickering as if someone had just told her a joke. "I'm sorry Amy, maybe next time." Emily taunted with a playful tone.

"I know everyone wants to wait to give you your presents but I have one for you now." Q was always impatient about giving people things. Besides when he was sitting on a gift like this he just HAD to hand it off to the proper owner. Setting a box on the table beside Emily he smiled down at her. "Happy birthday Emily."

The little girl hadn't expected gifts, she hadn't expected a birthday party either. "Thank you Q." Emily spoke up sounding a little shy.

"It's not just from me, actually it was Kathy's idea." He corrected her.

Carefully Emily took the wrapping paper off the box being more methodical about removing it than most kids who would have torn it apart. Opening up the box she looked down at a gold locket with the letter E written on the front of it in a rather lovely elegant font. In fact, it hadn't been much different from the one Captain Amelia Janeway had worn. Pulling it out she turned it over in her hands and opened the locket up. "It's empty."

"I thought we would let you decide what you wanted to put in it." Janeway responded figuring she would try to hunt down a picture of her father to place inside and if that was her choice, what made her happy then so be it.

Emily looked back up with a little smile, "Thank you Kathryn, Q." Opening the clasp on the chain she put it around her neck and secured it in place. She sat there for a moment, her face twisted from her happy little smile to a look of sorrow. Emily sat there a moment longer fighting back tears before she covered her face crying quietly. handing Amelia off to Neelix Janeway rushed to Emily's side placing a hand on the crying girls back.

"What's wrong?" She asked with an air of concern.

"It's just..." Emily continued to cry brushing her eyes and refusing to look at the captain. "I, I have never had anything that was just mine before." Not even the clothes on her back had belonged to her, she normally wore white lab clothes that belonged to the lab, she had the black armor that belonged to the weapons department since it had been a testing set they were working on for Vidiian harvesters, and even the dress she got to wear once when going outside the labs had belonged to her fathers real daughter and had to be returned. This locket was her first possession. The only thing anyone had even given to her before.

"Well get use to it, you are my kid too, that means you are going to be a spoiled brat in no time." Q smiled at Emily. He already spoiled Amelia rotten, Emily would be no different.

Janeway on the other hand had to think about Emily's life before her father had rescued her from the lab. It was a grim reminder of where Emily had come from. Things that couldn't be forgotten or undone but she could always make a better life from this point on, here on Voyager. "I suppose you have had a lot of firsts on Voyager already, your first real family, your first birthday, your first belonging, lets not stop at that shall we."

Emily closed her eyes again and wrapped her arms around Janeway's torso as she rested her head against the captain. "Thank you Captain." Emily whimpered quietly. Perhaps the most sincere the girl had ever been.


	47. Bonds of Blood

Charles Dickens _Oliver Twist_ , courtesy of Emily Janeway, that had been tonight's bedtime story, Emily's all time favorite story so far. Amelia had fallen asleep first as she often times did during a good bedtime story or really if you talked long enough. The sound of her mothers voice could always lull her to sleep weather Janeway was reading a story or reports. Emily on the other hand actually sat there and listened to the story, sometimes right up until the end of the book unless you stopped and set it aside. With Amelia snoozing in one of her arms it made it rather difficult to turn the pages but Janeway managed. She was half way through the book before she heard something a little like snoring, Q was notorious for snoring, often times forcing her to wake up up so she could get any sleep, it seemed he wasn't alone in his ability to wake the dead while sleeping. Closing the book she looked down at Emily, the girls head rested in her lap, curled up next to her and with how loud she could snore making a damn fine attempt to beat Q's record. "Q." Janeway called over to him, his feet propped up against on a little table while he sat back in a chair going over a PADD he was putting together for Emily, Q 'history' as it where. Amelia had inherited knowledge of the Q and the continuum, at five and a half months old if she could talk she could have given a lecture on it. For the same reason Emily couldn't change her form or teleport herself at will seemed to explain why she wasn't born with the same knowledge. "I think I need your help." She laughed trying to keep quiet, with Amelia in her arms and Emily in her lap she wasn't going anywhere."

Q set down the PADD and walked over to Janeway taking the baby from her. "Looks like you bored them to death."

She shot him a teasing glance and shifted a little now that her arms were free, resting a hand on Emily's back and patting her lightly to stop her snoring. "At least they are BOTH asleep now." One child was a lot of work, especially a young one. Amelia alone could outlast both of them when it came to needing sleep, Emily was no different. Certainly they could send her off to her quarters and let her entertain herself until she got tired but more often than not Janeway got a call from someone on the night shift telling her Emily had wandered to some unsafe portion of the ship because she was bored and wanted to see if there was something to do. Once Q had tucked Amelia into her crib he walked back over to Janeway and shook his head. "Looks like I am in a bit of a predicament."

"I guess you are on your own." He joked looking over at Emily who had manged to not only fall asleep on the captains lap but was holding onto her uniform jacket. Getting her to her quarters without waking her was going to be the trick. "I have an idea, unzip your top and take it off." Janeway shot him one of those looks as if she was on to him. "Prude, you have a shirt on under it." He sassed back at her. Rolling her eyes at him she took off her top as carefully as possible so her slate blue undershirt was exposed. As soon as her jacket was off Emily curled up a little more clearly aware of something going on around her. Luckily she didn't wake up. "You know for a one year old she is pretty big." Q pointed out. She was physically the size of an 8 to 10 year old human child and weighed just as much. Not that he couldn't life Emily, there was just a difference between carrying Amelia and Emily. Carefully Q slipped his arms under Emily and lifted her off the bed stopping as he felt his back strain. "And heavier than a normal one year old." He groaned and lifted her up holding him close to his chest she he didn't drop her. That would be a rude awakening.

Now freed from Amelia and Emily Janeway swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Emily was still fast asleep, Janeway's jacket dangling from her hand. "When has anything ever been 'normal' in this family? I'm the captain of a starfship lost in the Delta quadrant, you are renegade Q, Amelia can shut down Voyager's warp core from sneezing, and Emily was grown in a lab from Amelia's DNA."

"Well when you say it like that you make it sound so mundane." He joked letting her get the door for him since he couldn't reach the controls. Janeway followed him out into the hall keeping on an eye on Emily. It would be easier to not have Emily in separate quarters but the girl required about as much space and privacy as a teenage human. "You know I admit, one year ago I didn't think I would be the father of two little Q's and engaged to the human captain of a starship." Q admitted pausing in front of the door to Emily's quarters and waiting for Janeway to open the door for him.

They stepped inside as Janeway smirked, "A year ago I didn't think I was going to be the mother of one child, let alone yours."

"And was it really so bad?" Q teased as Kathryn rolled her eyes at him.

"No, it was unexpected but I wouldn't change anything." Very carefully Q set Emily down on her bed, her blankets covered in images of Captain Proton thanks to Tom Paris taking her on one of the holodeck adventures as his sidekick Rocket Kid. Very carefully the captain took off Emily's shoes and set them off to the side. "Well, aside from the fact that Emily snores about as loud as you do."

Q raised his hands up in defense. "Hey don't blame me for that, Amelia doesn't snore, those Vidiian's reprogrammed Emily's DNA so she would snore, not y fault."

"Oh yes, because along with curing the phage they always wanted to discover the cure to the second more horrifying disease known to humanoid species, snoring." She covered Emily with the blankets and paused seeing the golden glint at the girls neck. Not that she was too concerned Emily would snag the locket and choke herself in her sleep but Janeway didn't want that as a potential outcome. Unclipping the chain Janeway pulled the necklace off from around Emily's neck and continued to pull the blankets up over the girls shoulders. Janeway went to put it on Emily's night stand but some small trace of curiosity had made her pause. Opening the locket she smiled a little seeing just what it had been Emily had put inside.

"What?" Q asked seeing the bright grin on Janeway's face, that smile he could never get tired of.

Janeway closed the locket again and set it down on the night stand. "Just the picture Emily put in her locket." Leaning down beside the bed Janeway kissed the girl on the cheek and set the book _Oliver Twist_ down next to her locket.

"Oh?" Was a little curious to look in the locket now. "Was it Rowley? I bet it was Rowley, everyone loves that mutt." Q joked trying to get an honest answer out of her.

"Nope." Janeway walked over to him resting a hand on his shoulder and grabbing his arm as they walked back out into the hall.

"Amelia?"

"No." Janeway answered smiling again as he tried to guess.

"Pepper?" Janeway nodded her head no. "You?" She looked up at him, he had guessed right. "Seems someone doesn't want to admit they are a total mommy's girl." Q laughed at Janeway, Emily honestly spent the majority of her time with him when she could, she was honestly more of a daddy's girl than Amelia but it seemed he hadn't made a good enough impression to get in the locket yet.

"You were in the picture too." Janeway replied as Q raised a brow, or maybe he had.

In the morning it had been Neelix's responsibility to look after the children while they explored a nebula, the Captain and Wildman would have their hands full. How much trouble could three children be? Three children who had proven that they were nothing but angels. Naomi and Emily were content to talk about adventures they had on the holodeck as Amelia crawled around the floor picking up colorful blocks and dropping them again to the ground when she lost her interest in them. "What else can you do?" Naomi asked curiously after Emily had mentioned using her powers to interface with the holodeck and turn Pepper blue.

"I can do a lot of things." She giggled and looked over at the replicator in the mess hall. "Watch this." Emily focused on the replicator not even bothering to fiddle with the restraint on her wrist. She had gotten much better at controlling her powers without it thanks to Tuvok's meditations and training. The replicator turned on creating two bowls of chocolate ice cream. Naomi and Emily sprang up from the floor skipping over Amelia to grab the ice cream before Neelix caught on. "I'm getting much better, maybe one day I won't have to wear this stupid thing." She despised her restraint, without it she wouldn't have been able to be on Voyager or with her father. She would have been too dangerous, too out of control but Emily wondered. Had they never put this restraint on her would she have had these problems or would she have been like Amelia? Even more so Emily wondered, would she have been as powerful?

"Can you take it off?" Naomi asked looking at the black band clasped around Emily's arm with a screen that sort of resembled a control panel but much much smaller.

"I can take off the control band my father made me which is this part." Emily pulled the black band off her wrist that held the control screen to her. "Without this I couldn't use any of my powers. The restraint creates some sort of strange energy field, the control panel helps to dampen it." When she had pulled her band up off her arm a strange network of circuits were revealed, partially embedded into her arm and moving through her wrist.

"It looks...Borg." Naomi spoke with a frown. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really." Emily responded poking at the device. "One day when I can control my powers without it the doctor said he could have it removed. I won't even know it was there." That would be the second best day of her life, the first best being her arrival to Voyager. She understood now why her father had sacrificed himself to leave her here. He was right in that she would be safe and in his act to die for her she knew he was right when he had said he loved her like his real daughter.

"That will be good." Naomi responded taking a bite of her ice cream.

"Want to see what else I can do?" Emily smiled putting her control band back on her arm. She hadn't actually ever shown anyone the real restraint before other than the doctor and the captain. Janeway had been there when the doctor initially tried to remove the device and nearly got erased from some sort of charge. Emily looked over to make sure Neelix was still busy cooking in the kitchen and not paying attention to the two girls. "Watch this." She intended to use her new and improved control to knock the fruit bowl off the counter. It would be funny and Neelix wouldn't know what happened. Maybe just assume it had been teetering on the edge. Focusing her mind on the bowl she pictured it moving away from the counter but it didn't fall over and it didn't move. Instead the bowl was engulfed in bright light and blinked away with a little spark before reappearing in the same bright light just out of arms reach from her hands. It hoovered for a second after appearing before it fell to the ground, the fruit falling out around her feet and making Emily scream. Something so simple to Amelia was almost terrifying to Emily. Something that was suppose to be as natural as breathing to her was as daunting as a monsters maw.

Neelix ran out from the kitchen and stepped over to where Naomi and Emily were standing. In an instance the bowl in Emily's hand vanished in her hands with a flash of light making the girl jump back and scream again, her hand brushing the wall of the mess hall. "Emily? What's wrong?" Neelix asked before he hit a force field. "Emily?"

"I can't make it stop." She crouched down feeling her body shifting slightly, bursts of light cracking inside her mind. "Amy, help." Emily begged looking back down at her control band. "It's not working." She seemed panicked now.

"How is that possible?" Neelix tried stepping closer to her again only to be reminded Emily had put up a force field around herself.

"I might have damaged it when I took it off." If she had pulled any wires connecting the restraint to the control brace then it was possible the technology was malfunctioning and not her, or it could be the other way around. Perhaps she had unlocked abilities she didn't know about until her control over them grew and due to the power usage it had damaged the restraint itself. Emily grabbed her head and curled up, sparks flying overhead and the hull started to buckle under some invisible pressure. Another flash of light occurred, this time at Emily's wrist, her control band vanishing into a splash of light and appearing not far from where Amelia was sitting up. Almost as soon as it was gone Emily went unconscious.

Emily opened her eyes looking around at a red desert, the sky above black and full of stars and astronomical wonders. "Where am I?" Emily asked feeling her heart race in her chest.

 _"Safe, for now."_ That had been a familiar and comforting voice. Turning around she could see Amelia as she did when they shared dreams. A girl who looked just like her wearing a blue dress.

"What happened?" Emily asked Amy feeling more comfortable talking to her like this than with her thoughts as Amy did.

The girl in the blue dress held up the black band that had been around her wrist. _"I tried to save it but I think it's broken."_ Amelia handed it back to Emily. _"It was, malfunctioning, your powers are outgrowing the restraint. You can't hide behind it forever."_

"I'm not hiding Amy." Emily corrected her. "I want to be like you."

 _"What they did to you was wrong, I am sorry they made you broken with this, thing but I can make you not broken."_ It wasn't exactly poetry but Amy was only five months old. _"Trust me Emily, I want to protect you."_

Waking back up Emily saw the familiar sight of the sickbay ceiling hovering over her head. Trying to sit up she winced grabbing the bridge of her nose and feeling like she had her brains blown out her ears. "Captain, Emily and Amelia are awake." The doctors voice sounded like a siren in her ears. Glancing over to the biobed next to her it didn't look like Amelia was having a rough time at waking back up. In fact the little baby was already sitting up and smiling. Emily moved her hand to her forehead groaning again and noticing her control brace was still gone.

Feeling hands grab her she jumped. "I'm not safe, wait." Emily cried out trying to push Q away defensively.

"I don't see why not, your brain activity has returned to normal levels." The doctors voice spoke over hers. "I can't speak for your restraint however, Lt. Torres is attempting to make repairs to it but I think your little display in the mess hall has proven it's not going to do what it was meant to do, and neither is this thing." The doctor scanned her wrist getting some strange feedback readings from it. "It's functioning at half it's original power, but I'm not an engineer, that's doesn't happen to be my field. Your best option is to remove it."

"No." Emily cried out a little frightened, her attention snapping back to Amy. She wasn't hiding behind it, that's what she had told Amelia but even now the baby was giving her a suspicious look. Amelia had said she would help fix her but how could a baby do that? Even if Amelia had control of her powers she didn't have the fear of losing that control like Emily did, hurting someone important to her. "Leave it as it is, for now. Half power is better than nothing at all. Maybe it won't hold back all of my abilities but it can hold back the full force of them. At least until I can control them well enough so that I don't hurt anyone."

"With the restraint exposed it could take damage, it wasn't built with an active lifestyle in mind like the one you have on Voyager." He was right, she was suppose to sit in a lab, do close to notice and only get out of her room when she was put into another room to be tested on. Most of her ways were spent strapped down to a table and being poked. Not running around and playing. At least her father has considered that when making the control band.

"I can continue to wear the band over it, even if it can't be fixed. Remove the control interface and reinforce it. It's protected the restraint so far."

"From outside forces but not from you." The doctor added.

Emily's eyes shifted over to the captain who had been seated next to Amelia. "I had hoped for this to be a temporary fix not a permanent one. Now I don't know, it might be better if you let Torres repair the restraint and leave it at that." Emily let out a sigh, to be locked up her whole life in a 'cage' and never allowed to be who she really was. What sort of life was that? "You could have hurt Neelix, Naomi, and we still don't know why Amelia went unconscious when you did." She knew where this was going, Janeway was blaming her for Amelia going unconscious too.

"I didn't hurt Amy, I can't hurt Amy, she made me go unconscious, she told me..." Emily looked back down at the restraint on her arm. "She told me I was broken, she knocked me out so she could make me stop, she removed my control band to shut the restraint down, Amy wanted to help me. I'm sick and she just wanted to make me better again." The captain wouldn't understand but Q seemed to.

"How do we know this won't happen again? Kathryn asked.

"I guess you won't know. Just like if you lock me away behind a prsion door with this restraint I'll never know if I could have come to control it by myself." Janeway had a responsibility to look after her crew and keep them out of harms way, but she also had a responsibility to help every member of her crew improve themselves, even her own daughter.

"Alright, but until you have mastered that control, I would think it...unwise for you to be too far from Amelia. At least if something does happen she can, and I hope she will, correct it."

Emily looked at Amelia and smiled. "She said she will, so long as I don't put Voyager in the Amber Cascades. She can't transport something that large."


	48. Out of the Frying Pan

"Coffee?" Q walked in with a pot of coffee in his hand.

"Yes please, I think you read my mind." Q was quick to pour her another cup, it seemed she needed it more than he had thought. Janeway set her PADD to the side and looked back up at Q as he poured her a cup of black coffee. "It's been a long morning. I have a feeling it's just going to be one of those days." Not that she was expecting a Borg attack or a warp core breach but at this point anything could happen. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night and already Tom had been late for his shift. She was going to have to talk to him again. That was the third time this week. "I see you managed to get out of sickbay." She took a sip of her coffee and smiled at him as he poured a cup for himself and sat down next to her. "Besides, we were suppose to go out and explore class 5 nebula today but it seems all the shuttles are having problems. Now you wouldn't happen to know something about that would you?" After all, he had brought the coffee, it all made sense once he walked into her ready room with that pot in his hand.

Q rested his feet up on her table and gave her a little smile. "Well, I noticed you wanted to go out there and take a look at the nebula yourself."

"Well I was a science officer long before I was a captain." She reminded him, oh he knew, her intelligence though limited compared to the Q. Still she was one of the smartest humans on this ship, smart enough to see right through him even.

"That's why I love you, pretty and smart. Also says here you were taking Ensign Haris."

"He works in engineering and has trained to fly the shuttles under Tom Paris. I'm told he's one of our better shuttle pilots." She responded knowing where he was going with this.

"And you know I want you in the best of hands when it comes to flying into stellar phenomenons." Q paused bringing up what she had expected him to. "Oh, and the doctor was also on the away team list."

"If you suggest what I think you are it won't be me you'll have to answer to. He wanted to go on more away missions and I need a good medical officer in case something happens."

"But I'm a good medical officer." Q pointed out. "The doctor has been on more away missions than I have and you said when I joined the crew of Voyager that I would get fair treatment. So why haven't you put me on an away mission yet?"

"I can put you on the next away mission that needs a doctor." She was very persistent about having him stay on Voyager but he was just as persistent to go with her.

"But I want to go on this mission." He begged moving a little closer to her. "Kathy please?" Q started giving her his rendition of puppy eyes, something both Amelia and Emily had perfected thanks to him.

"If you went on the mission would the shuttle suddenly stop having problems." She raised a brow and looked at him.

"I'm not certain Captain, I'm not the one tampering with your shuttles, but Tom and I will guard them with our lives until we get out those shuttle bay doors." He smiled before leaning in and kissing her on the lips.

"Well then in that case, I'll leave it to you to tell the doctor he's off the away mission." Q jumped up looking rather excited. "And Q, should I find out that you or...either of our girls have been playing with the shuttles systems again I'll report you to Starfleet command when we get back to earth and throw you in the brig."

"Would you at least come give me conjugal visits?" He teased.

"Get out, go break the bad news to the doctor, and Q, be nice to him, please." Q knew when he was no longer going to be tolerated by the captain. For the woman he had asked to marry she certainly seemed to tolerate him on the best of days and hide from him on the worst of days. Q had done everything in his mortal power to make her happy but he had to live with the fact that sometimes it just wasn't good enough. He hoped proving himself to her not only for her sake but for Voyagers sake and the sake of her crew. He wasn't just a 'fallen' Q, he was apart of this crew, this 'family'. He cared about more than just Janeway, even if she told him tomorrow she didn't love him he would stay on Voyager, for Emily, for Amelia, for Tom and Kim, hell even for the Doctor and Seven. He just liked those two mechanical freaks.

Q was down at the shuttle bay more than a little excited to go on his first away mission. He greeted Ensign Haris in the back of the shuttle with a big smile and a pat on the back. The ensign seemed a little jumpy, less so because this was his first away mission, in fact it was number ten for him. It was just his first time working with the captain directly. He went over everything with Q to be certain everything went smoothly, especially since he had Q to worry about now. By the time Janeway got aboard the shuttle the ensign stiffened up and did what so many other ensigns did at her arrival to their deck when they were not use to her being around. "Captain on the shuttle."

"At ease." Janeway replied taking her seat.

"Already at ease." Q laughed having not even flinched when she got on the shuttle, maybe that was the side effect of sleeping with her, you didn't get so jumpy around her anymore. Not to be misunderstood for no longer having respect for her. Q respected the hell out of Janeway, he just didn't trip on himself...all the time.

"I'm not surprised Q." She taunted back at him, the least he could do was take this away mission seriously since she had let him come with. Q took his seat in the co pilots seat, being Tom Paris's friend had it's benefits since Q was just about as good a pilot now as ensign Haris was.

"Captain we are good to take off." Ensign Haris let her know.

"Good, take us out." She replied as Q sat back in his seat. At warp 6 it was a fast journey to the nebula and everything had gone according to plan. Scanners were fully functional, the shuttle was so far in one piece, and Q was enjoying his first away mission. Checking his consul every now and again he finally turned back to look at Janeway going over the scanners readings. "Take us further into the nebula ensign Haris." Janeway ordered.

"Going to make a minor course correction captain." Q glanced over at him before looking back out the front viewer.

"Did you see that?" Q spoke up glancing back at his own readings. There wasn't anything there.

"See what?" Ensign Haris asked.

"Just, it looked like an electrical storm but...I guess not." Q looked back out the view window again and shrugged his shoulders. "Nothings coming up in my scans..." The shuttle was shook violently as an energy wave rushed through it and shorted out the panels. It blew out Ensign Haris's controls throwing the boy clear out of his chair before striking Q in the chest. Unlike Haris Q wasn't blown clean from his seat, instead slumping over as the shuttle's systems were shut down. Holding his chest he looked over at his own panel trying to choke out his words. "Impulse engines are offline Captain." Pushing himself back up he looked over at the pilots seat and remembered Haris had been hit too. "Haris?" Janeway was already out of her seat checking him from the ground and not a moment too soon as her own consul blew out sending electrical static to burn the hull above it. Rolling out of his own seat Q grabbed the emergency medical kit from under his feet and drug it over to Haris. Pulling out his medical tricorder he scanned the ensign, his vital signs were dangerously low. "I'm going to try and stabilize him." Grabbing the hypo spray he loaded it and pressed it against the ensigns neck. Q scanned him again, the electrical energy had damaged multiple organs in his body, unless Q performed surgery right here and now ensign Haris was a dead man. Q pulled out the lazier scalpel and the cortical simulator. "It's alright Haris, I won't let you die buddy." Q planted the cortical simulator behind his right ear and loaded up another vial into the hypospray.

"Kathy." He handed her the medical tricorder so she could assist him, she knew enough to act as the nurse here on this mission. "Monitor him, I'm going to have to stop the internal bleeding." He used the scalpel to cut into him knowing they had more primitive sutures for this procedure until they could get him back to Voyager. "I'm sorry you are going to have a nasty cut Haris until we get back to Voyager but I need to plug up some holes in your body." He pulled out his tissue regeneration and suture kit. It wasn't as nice as the one on Voyager but it was going to do in a pinch. "The cortical simulator should keep your brain functions going, that jolt to your body could have scrambled your brains but luckily Voyager isn't too far." Once they got him patched up they could start sending a distress signal. Q nearly cut through through Haris's lungs when the shuttle shook again.

"We're under attack." Janeway stood back up and glanced out the side port.

Q continued to try and work on Haris as he looked over his shoulder. Scanning Haris again Q stood up. "What do you need me to do?"

"Save Haris, I'll take care of this." Janeway sat back down at tactical and tried to raise the shields. "Shields are down, I'm scanning for a ship." So long as she could find the ship attacking them she could fire back. The ship shook again. "I found them."

"Alright, you do that I'll do this." He turned back to Haris using the tissue regeneration to close up one of the wounds through his heart, that was the most threatening injury right now. The shuttle shook again. "I thought you said you were taking care of that." Q gave Haris a tranquilizer to keep him under.

"Don't worry Q I have it under control." She fired at the ships shield generator, she couldn't get clear readings from the ship but the condition the shuttle was currently in they couldn't fight their way through this. "How is Ensign Haris?"

"It doesn't matter now, none of us will be doing very well if we can't get out of here." The shuttle shook again. "NO WHAT?"

Janeway looked back at the scanners. "They have a tractor beam locked on us." If she had thrusters she could have fought it, instead Janeway had another trick up her sleeve. "I am going to fire at the tractor beam." Charging up the weapons another surge ran through the shuttle nearly causing tactical to blow up. Jumping up Q pushed her out of her seat and landing on top of her against the floor.

"So sorry." He apologized.

"Haris?"

"Alive, he muttered, for now." Looking back to her seat he glanced over to Haris. "I assume we are still in that tractor beam. Haris isn't in any condition to fight. Help me move him into the container in the back of the shuttle, that locker for samples. It's large enough to hide a body." Letting Janeway up off the floor they crawled over to Haris and lifted him up trying not to be too rough with him as they carried him to the back of the shuttle. Q grimaced under the weight of the man feeling the pain in his chest again. "Oh damn." He nearly dropped Haris but kept going.

"Q you're injured."

"Lets get Haris in the locker and worry about me later." Setting Haris down Q opened the locker and together they lowered him into the locker. Grabbing an emergency respirator he placed it over his face, he would have enough air for a few hours.

"You need medical attention Q, you're bleeding." She tried reaching for the corner of his jacket so she could pull it down and see the injury better.

Q pushed her back shook his head. "No, that's not important right now."

Janeway turned away from him, clearly he didn't need her help right now. "We can still set the distress beacon." Q followed behind Janeway as she sat down and tried to activate the distress signal for their shuttle but the last shake only confirmed the worst.

"Get behind me Kathy."

"Or what, you'll bleed on them?" She growled back grabbing her pahser as the shuttle door opened. Janeway turned to fire on their would be attacker but paused when she saw who it was.

"I have been searching for you Captain Janeway, and it seems I finally found you."

Janeway narrowed her eyes as more men came onto the shuttle raising their own weapons. "Cal."


	49. Into the Fire

Q fought them as the walked down the hall to Cal's brig. His tempers raging now that he was faced with the man who had tortured him for hours and laughed at his misery. "Cal, you are just the slug I was looking for. I'm going to break you like the worm you are you pathetic targ." He fought against the grip the two men had on him as they walked him to the brig. "I'm going to crush you for what you did to Janeway."

Cal grabbed the back of his shirt and removed him from the grip of his two men. "And as I recall I didn't withhold my best from you the last time, Q. Care to try your hand at me again?" He spun Q around so that the two men were facing, his hands gripped tight to the collar of his shirt. For a moment Cal let him go smiling at the dark eyes 'mortal'. "You told me if you had your powers you would crush me, well here is your second chance Q, crush me." Cal spread his arms out giving Q the opening he needed to attack. When Q did lunge forward to strike him however Cal punched him hard in the chest, right where Q had been struck by the consul burst. He struck Q hard throwing him down onto the ground and laying him flat. "Some revenge Q." Cal laughed nodding over to the men holding Janeway. They moved ready to throw Janeway as harshly as Cal has tossed Q, one of his men tossed her in after nearly making the Captain fall down but no sooner had she recovered herself Cal beat his man across the face. "Don't hurt her." Cal growled at the man before turning back to Janeway and holding out a hand to her. "I hope you are unharmed." She glared back at him and standing to the front of the cell and challenging him to try her a second time. If he could fight Q while he was already hurt then she was curious to how well he would fair against an unharmed starfleet captain. Likely not as well. "I'll leave you alone then, raise a level ten force field around this cell."

As Cal walked away Janeway stood there watching him feeling that same hate Q had felt, that same drive for revenge. But unlike Q she wasn't going to stoop so low, even if she had every right to want revenge. Q sat back up holding a hand over his chest where Cal had struck him, his breath getting caught in the back of his throat as Kathryn watched their captors vanish through the brig doors. "I'm alright by the way." Q finally gasped trying to be serious but feeling more sarcastic than anything. He had just tried to stand up for her and taken a punch to his chest, right where he had been struck by electrical discharge from his consul blowing out. Pulling off his science officer colored jacket he ran a hand over the chard slate blue fabric of the undershirt and felt that painful jolt run through his chest again. "Thanks for asking." Q's voice sounded a little more pissy now.

Janeway turned to face him, looking over at his chest, his shirt stained with blood. Walking to his side she crouched down next to him as he sat up and curled in on himself leaning forward. "Let me take a look." Finally she decided to notice he was in pain, pain inflicted on him for standing up for her. Pulling up on his shirt Q slapped her hand back and turned away from her a little more. "And you accuse me of being prude." He liked to throw that word around at her just because she wasn't always in the mood to cater to his needs. Because after being a captain all day long, trying to get her crew home in one piece, and being a mother wasn't work enough she had to throw herself at him at the end of the night when she could hardly keep her eyes open.

Q looked back at her snapping with that sassy tone of his, "I'm not being prude, Prudence Princess." Lifting up his own shirt so Janeway couldn't see he looked down at the ugly black mark ripped across his chest, almost dead center there was a burn through the skin showing a layer of burned muscles and was that his sternum? Q leaned forward a little more covering the injury with his hand and feeling like he was going to throw up. He had never been injured this badly before. Sure a cut here and a scrape there but this was...horrifying. Good thing the burn from the energy burst had mostly 'cooked' his wound so it wasn't bleeding that much but it hurt like hell and twice as much as hell would hurt since Cal had planted his fist firmly on the exposed muscles and apparently...bone. Q gagged again, after working with the doc and fixing up injuries worse than this he couldn't take the sight of his own, what did you call this? Hole in his chest? "It's pride Kathy, I don't need you to pity me any more than you do already."

Janeway grabbed his shoulders a little harder than she might have wanted and pushed him back down against the floor she he was looking up at her now, as pretty as she might have always been to him he wasn't going to 'melt' in her hands right now. She didn't have him wrapped around her finger anymore. "Well put aside your pride for now Q, I'm not going to pity you I'm trying to help you."

"Like you don't pity me every moment of every day? Admit it Kathy, you feel sorry for me, I'm pathetic, I'm mortal because of my feelings for you and you know you don't feel the same for me. If we didn't have Amelia and Emily would you even bother to have stayed with me this long?"

She didn't have time for this right now, if he wanted to be a drama queen when they got back to Voyager then she would sit down and have that conversation with him then. Still he made a valid point and Kathryn had to ask herself the same question. Was she with Q because she loved him or was she with Q for the girls? Janeway didn't linger on the thought too long before pulling up on his shirt again. "I don't pity you Q, if I did would I have said yes yo your marriage proposal?" Saying those words out loud confirmed anything she might have felt a moment ago. No, Janeway wouldn't have let herself get roped into a doomed marriage, even for the sake of Amelia having her father with her. She hadn't loved Q so much as admired him when she had gotten pregnant but she had come to have a certain fondness for him. The real question she kept asking herself was that fondness actually love?

"I don't know, did you say yes to my proposal?" He nodded to her hand noting the lack of a ring on her finger. Certainly she said she she didn't wear it on the bridge just to be safe, with being in the delta quadrant the risk of being attacked or encountering problems was always a high probability, but even off the bridge she never had it on. In fact she might have forgotten she even had that damn ring until he had pointed it out to her now and Q had put a lot of thought into having it replicated. Maybe he wasn't her perfect Mark that she left behind on Earth but dammit, he loved her just as much as Mark ever could.

"I left the ring in my top drawer until we get married, then according to starfleet regulation I can wear it on the bridge or anywhere I like." She reminded him, but it begged to raise another question of his.

"That's right, when was the last time we actually talked about a wedding? Planned when we were getting married or who would marry us? I think the first and the last time it was brought up was a week after I asked you. You told me you were busy and we could talk about it later." Q hung onto his shirt so she couldn't attempt to pull it back up again. He would rather die than have her continue to 'lie' to him and he didn't want her to have to lie to herself to make everything 'alright'. "Tell me this Captain." It was a rare moment that Q called her Captain, he did it for two reasons, because he was showing honest respect or because he was hinting that she didn't deserve to be called by name.

"Q." She responded trying to make him stop, just for a moment.

"Kathy?"

"Q." She growled back not wanting to play one of his games right now.

"Kathy." He snapped back "We can do this all day it's not going to work...unless you moan a little, or say my name slightly louder." He joked, what else did he have right now? He was probably going to die here in the cell being told the woman he loved didn't feel the same way about him, the human he had tossed his powers and immortality aside for.

"And this is why I don't have serious conversations with you, I can't. You turn everything into a childish argument Q. I can't stand that about you."

"Then leave." He growled back, all tone of playfulness lost from his voice. If she wanted a serious conversation now then she was getting one. "If I gave you the option to take back the answer you gave me on Christmas, if I told you I wouldn't care that you changed your mind? What would that answer be now? And don't lie to me Kathy, I know when I have been played the fool. I love you, that won't change, but because I love you i know sometimes the best thing you can do for someone you love is just let them go. Especially if I am in the way of you being truly happy. So what would your answer be now?"

Right now still wasn't the time to be having this conversation. Letting go of his shirt she sat back letting out a sigh. "Honestly?" Janeway paused a moment. "I don't know." Q set his head back against the ground, as far as he was concerned that was a no. "It doesn't matter right now, Q you are bleeding everywhere, look at your hands." He had been so desperate to keep his injury concealed from her that he had gotten his own hands covered in his blood. Q couldn't help but feel it was an appropriate wound, after all his heart was breaking and the injury had been fairly close to his heart.

He had to admit that answer hurt him, it hurt him more than this gaping hole in his chest, well it wasn't a gaping home. Luckily there was exposed bone there to stop his lungs from falling out or his heart being used as a decorative piece of this cell floor. "I am happy you are being honest, since we are sharing our honest feelings you know when I said I thought your short hair was attractive after you got it cut?" He looked back at her, Kathy had cut her hair length horribly short because Amelia had gotten accustom to pulling her locks whens he got upset...and he had ended up nearly dying via suffocation one too many times. Her hair had grown out a little since then, it was a decent length now, not quite shoulder length but still better than that mess from before. "Well, I hate it, you look stupid." He was just grasping at straws now, although he did hate when her hair was shorter, it was a nice length now. Why was the length of her hair going to be the last thing on his mind before he died?

"Really Q?"

"If you cut me, do I not bleed." He whispered to himself ignoring her a little more. Janeway finally surprised him while he let his guard down and pulled his shirt up pausing to look at his injury. From the look on her face she only confirmed what he had already known, he wasn't in good shape, he wasn't going to make it. "You don't have to say it Kathy, I already know. I'm the medical officer on this trip after all. This is the end of the line for me, it's been good knowing you, it was fun, while it lasted. Tell Emily and Amelia I..I died a brave man."

"If you start talking like that you will die, I'll be the one to send you there too." She threatened grabbing his jacket, he needed immediate medical attention, something they didn't have.

"Don't give me false hope Kathryn, you need to get out of here and go on, it shouldn't be too hard without me. You have made it clear these past few months just how you really feel about me." Q winced grabbing his chest and curling up on himself. "I don't know what hurts more, the hold in my chest or the hole in my heart."

"Don't be so dramatic..."

"Dramatic? I gave up unlimited power, immortality, my freedom, all of it for you. What do I get in return? Heartache, pain, suffering, DEATH. Don't get me wrong Kathryn, if you would be happier without me then that is what I would want for you." His voice started getting quiet, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. She had to keep him conscious. "I just want you to be happy."

Propping his head up in her lap she slapped the side of his face a little. "Q, stay with me here." His eyes flickered open for a moment as he seemed to look up at her again before he went on rambling, making no sense. "Q if you want to keep yelling at me you can do that all you like." Pressing her fingers against his necks he tried taking his pulse but it was so slow she thought for a painful moment that he had already died. "Your pulse is getting weak. Q you have to stay with me." She slapped him lightly on the face again while his head lulled to one side. "Q." Kathryn balled up his jacket and slipped it under his head so she could run to the front of her cell. "I need help here." If Cal had gone through the trouble of tracking them down he would go through the trouble of keeping them alive. He needed them if his idea was to get a hold of their daughter. After all, didn't he need the parents to scream so the fawn would come running?

It took some time waiting before one of Cal's men came to the cell to get her. Turning the shield off he grabbed the captain, two of his friends armed and ready to fire if she tried anything. "Cal needs to see you."

"Tell him to send someone to help Q, he's going to die."

"That's not my problem."

Kathryn pulled back on her arm glaring at the man trying to round her up. "It will be your problem if he dies." That was a threat.

"I'll send someone to get him then." The man pulled her out of the cell and put the force field back up. "Follow me, or I'll shoot you, will it also be my problem if you die?"


	50. How to Break a Heart

Walking into Cal's private dining quarters his men were a little more respectful to Captain Janeway this time around. Rather than throw her into his quarters they simply let her go and nodded to Cal before backing out. Seemed they had a healthy respect for the man, or fear, something she didn't share in common with them. "Captain Janeway, please have a seat." Cal spoke up with a smile on his face.

"I'd prefer to stand."

Cal looked over at her, still seated in his chair. Folding his hands he nodded his head lightly and smiled back at her. "I hear your, mate Q, he needs medical attention. Perhaps if you took a seat and joined me I could send someone to look at him." His smile grew in size now. "It would be a shame for Amelia to grow up without a father." If it had been only her own life at risk she wouldn't have taken a seat but from the way he was talking he made it seem like he would let Q die unless she humored him. Knowing how sadistic and twisted Cal was from their last run in Janeway didn't need much of an educated guess to weather he was lying or not. Still holding a furious gaze on Cal took a seat at the table. "That's what I thought." Reaching over to a little panel on his side of the table he pressed a few keys. "Doctor, I am pleased to inform you that you appear to have a patient in our brig. Please give him some sedatives to ease his pain and make sure our guest gets the best treatment possible. I want to see him up and about by tomorrow." He slapped the table and laughed at some inside joke that only he seemed to understand. "There you have it Captain Janeway, I am not an unreasonable man. your Q will be well taken care of. Dr. Vitan is one of the best, now to business, why I brought you here." He waved a finger at her. "You know you are a hard woman to find but with patience and persistence even the delta quadrant isn't big enough for you to hide in."

The captain raised a brow not at all amused by any of his 'kind' gestures or reason. Cal was a monster, as simple as that. He enjoyed watching others suffer, he hadn't broken her the last time they had met and he wouldn't succeed now. "Who's hiding?" She taunted back to let him know she hadn't been hiding from him. In fact she had hoped he had been far behind them, clearly she had been mistaken.

"Your daughter Amelia for starters." He set his hands on the table and folded them nodding to the food and drink laid out. "Eat, drink, you must be hungry after your ordeal."

"I'll pass."

Cal seemed to get some sort of enjoyment from her defiance. "You love your crew Captain, every member of it, and you love your daughter, she's a remarkable creature. The last time we met I saw her as a perfect mark, untouchable prey, the finest hunt, but I also saw her as...impure. My eyes have been opened since then. As you may well know I am serving different masters than last we met." He nodded his head to the red banners that were spread along the walls. She had taken notice of them, the red banners displayed a large black symbol that didn't seem native to his planet. Something like a trident that was eerily shaped like an eye watching over you. "My new boss as I might call him, you could say he's taken great interest in your child as well. Where we got off on the wrong foot before was that I was ordered to kill Amelia, because she was too dangerous. Now my orders are quite different, I'm to..well capture her would be the wrong word, welcome." His tone took on a serene sort of air to it when he had said that. "You see, among this crew Amelia is less of a mistake and more of a messiah. A foretold coming of a child with unimaginable powers. My master, my boss, he's been waiting for her longer than you could ever imagine. He wants to meet her, to help guide her as she grows, to help her realize her full potential. I would say that's not as frightful as infanticide now is it?"

"I wouldn't help you capture her the last time, what makes you think I would help you now?"

"Because I'm not going to bleed you to catch her." He laughed. "I'm sorry about that by the way, I didn't want to do it but you left me no choice Captain Janeway, Kathryn. I am truly and deeply sorry for what I did to you but I knew you could take the pain. I wasn't going to let you die after all." He stopped himself before he forgot the purpose of bringing her here. "And you haven't heard my offer. You are trying to get your crew home, to Earth. With Amelia's help my master can send you to earth, send you home with the snap of his fingers." Cal snapped his fingers trying to invoke some sort of startled response from Janeway but got nothing.

"I won't trade my daughter for a faster way home."

Cal stood up holding a hand out to her. "But that is the beautiful thing, you won't have to trade Amelia. My master believes she needs to remain with you, as her mother. She's only a baby, she still needs you. Think of my offer a moment, I know you must have had some of these same concerns before you made the choice to have Amelia. The Q wanted her to end a war, it crossed your mind before, would the Continuum take her from you once she was born? And have they? Have they shown interest in taking her? No, just as my master has promised and you know why? Because the Q don't know how to care for a human child as my master is ill equipped to care for a human child, but he does wish to be by her side and guide her as he knows best. With you to look over her and his wisdom Kathryn the continuum can never take Amelia from you, she can be free from their expectations, free to be whoever she wishes to be. What my master is offering it to undo everything her father has damned her to. To serve the continuum as their puppet, their means to an end, to understand what they can not. Why ask a child to work for those who think themselves godlike? Why not let her, a true god be the one to rule."

There was something uncomfortable about this 'master' of his. How did Cal know the intimate details about her daughter, and why did his master feel he could guide a Q? "Just who is your master?" Janeway finally asked.

Cal shrugged his shoulders and flicked his hand carelessly. "He, has no real name." Cal paused walking closer to her. "And yet he has many names. Dagon and Cronus on your planet I think, Qualos on mine, Nexus to others..."

"Teth." Janeway whispered the name under her breath, Q had spoken to Teth when they had worked together to save Amelia's life. Q had told her about that being they had encountered, what it had done to Teth's son, that the being was forced to kill his own child to stop, Nexus. Janeway stood up quickly only to have Cal push her aggressively back into her seat.

Standing behind her he planted both hands on her shoulders and squeezed them hard. "So you know of him. I'm not at all surprised, he knows all about you Captain Kathryn Janeway of Bloomington Indianan Earth. Daughter of Vice Admiral Micheal Janeway and Emily Janeway, sister is Phoebe Janeway, an artist on Earth. Your dogs name is Mollie and Rowley if you count that Q construct as a dog. Your Fiance's name was Mark Johnson, before Voyager was stranded here. I suppose now that fiance is Q, you could do much better." It was unsettling how much he knew about her, a little like an obsessive stalker. Janeway tried to get out of her chair again only to be pushed back down, Cal leaning in closer to her and speaking directly into her ear with a softer voice, not quite a whisper. "I admire you Kathryn, I was never truly able to break you, it was no wonder Q picked you as his mate. All the best qualities of the Q bred into all the best qualities of the human species to make a remarkable little entity. Superior to both species." Shifting over to her other ear he smiled. "But do you really care that much for him?" This was a trick, he was trying to toy with her. "Do. You. Love. Him." His staccato tone was rather obnoxious but she wasn't going to say anything. If she said yes he would be able to use Q against her, if she said no, well she would hate to think what else he might do.

"Where I am standing as a Q he was an impressive force, egotistical but powerful. Started wars, ended wars, manipulated people." He looked at her long and hard when mentioning manipulation. "As a human well...not exactly my choice guardian for a future god is he." Kathryn let out a sigh, she was getting rather tired of this 'god' thing. "Kathy rethink my offer, you could be the mother of a far more impressive being, you could be the queen of the delta quadrant, no, of this galaxy, of the universe."

"You're right, I have given it some thought and I have decided." She looked up at him. "I'm going to have to deny your request, I'm not going to give you Amelia."

"Don't play hard to get Kathryn. It's in poor taste." He scoffed standing up and leaning against the table in front of her. "It took me so long to convince him to spare your life. Before he wanted both parents to die, felt I was well suited enough to look after Amelia as she grew into adulthood but I convinced him your life is vital to her well being. Don't make all that begging mean nothing Captain. I would hate to see you die. You see I view another possibility, you and I, raising Amelia together and ushering a new era for every species in this quadrant, in your quadrant even. A brave new world brought together, unity under one god, one master, one lord, immortal, eternal."

"On their own free will or by force?"

"Does it matter? You are starfleet, you want peace, so do we."

"Somehow I don't buy it." She growled back standing up from her chair and looking him in the eye. "Besides, I'd rather die than stand beside you."

"So you would stand beside Q?" She had that look on her face again, when ever he mentioned Q she got...afraid. "Ah, you do love him."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"He's spineless as a mortal, weak, selfish, arrogant, egotistical, he doesn't respect you like I do."

"That is where you are wrong." She snapped back, he could be all of those things true but he was more than that. Even when he acted like he didn't respect her he had shown nothing but respect for her. "He's proven to be brave more than once, he was selfish once but he's learned to put others before himself, he's even risked his life to protect people he can't stand. He's arrogant but he knows when he's failed, unlike you." That was a quick jab to Cal's ego. "He may be egotistical but he also has a good heart, something you lack. He's spirited and frustrating to deal with, he challenges my authority at times and is top of the list for insubordination, right under Tom Paris but he's a far better man than you could ever be." Q made her smile, he made her laugh, and he had strong feelings for him. He had stayed by her side in sickbay when she thought they were going to lose Amelia, holding her hand and promising her he was going to die before he let their baby die. He had stayed with her in the cargo bay even when he should have left her to go get help, and he hadn't just done it all because he was looking out for Amelia. He was looking out for her. Janeway took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh feeling a little bad now. Q was so happy to show his feelings to her but she had been so afraid to show her feelings for him. Maybe she feared him hurting her again or even worse, maybe she was afraid for how she felt about him. Her parents wouldn't approve, Starfleet certainly wouldn't.

"It's unfortunate Kathryn, because I wanted to get you through this and inflict as little pain as possible to you. I convinced my master to spare your life, but not his." Cal turned part way to walk over to his com system, most likely intending to give the order to kill Q. Janeway was quick, rushing forward to cal she punched him hard in the back of the neck at the base of the skull, a blow strong enough to knock him out cold. He dropped quickly, not even able to put his arms out and catch himself. There was a satisfying feeling taking him out with one swing. He was going to be feeling that for a while.

Crouching beside his body she pulled her phaser off his belt and growled. "No matter what you say, you and I were never going to be a thing." Setting her phaser to kill and hitting him a few times was tempting but the reality of it was Q was in danger. Plus she had an answer for him, he might just like to hear that. Walking out of his private quarters Janeway fired at the control panel so Cal couldn't get out and decide to come after her IF he even woke up in time. Two of his men had been posted outside waiting to escort her back but were taken by surprise when Janeway fired into the man standing to the right. He fell over, his friend firing back at Janeway and forcing her to press her back into the door. Stepping out from her position she fired back at him taking him down with a leg wound. He had dropped to his knees and reached for his weapon only to have Janeway kick it out of his reach and grabbing him by the back of his uniform. "I'm going to say this once so listen closely. You are going to bring me to your ships sickbay or I am going to shoot you, understood?" He nodded his head not really thinking of starting an argument with the woman who had a phaser aimed at his face. "Good."

Janeway forced him back to his feet and help her phaser up against his ribs. Even if it wasn't set to kill it would cause him a lot of pain fore he went down. "Now start walking." She ordered, the man silently leading her down one of the halls. They had to take a lift down a few floors, Janeway making a mental map of the place as he lead her to their destination. Once they were on the floor with sickbay she paused pulling him over again. "Where is it from here?"

"Down the hall, the third door to the left." He spoke without a hitch in his voice.

"If I walk into an ambush I'll shoot you, is it still down there?" He nodded his head yes. "Good." Striking him hard on the neck she watched him buckle over and fall to the floor out cold. Walking the hall it seemed fairly clear, not all together a good sign. Reaching the third door she stood back to the side while it slid open, the doctors on the other side looking at the empty doorway with confusion.

"The doors are malfunctioning again." One of the doctors groaned. Before the second could make a comment Janeway stepped into the doorway and fired off two shots hitting both of them and sending them falling into work stations. Moving inside the sickbay she looked over to one of the beds where Q was laid out.

"Q." She ran to his side looking around at the surgical tools around him. Some of their technology seemed more primitive than Voyagers while others were more advanced. Their med cabinets were certainly stocked with stolen supplies. Her eyes caught the hypospray from their emergency medical kit and before long Janeway had tracked down the rest of it. She used the tissue regeneration to seal up Q's chest and hit him with the hypospray having loaded it with something to get him back on his feet. Sitting back up he grabbed his chest again and groaned.

"Kathy?"

Resting a hand on his shoulder she helped him off the bed. "It's alright Q, we need to get back to the shuttle, can you make it?"

He stood up on his own feet again holding one of his arms close to his chest. "For now." He was still partially out, his body reacting slowly as she wrapped one of his arms over her shoulder and helped him walk out of the sickbay. The halls were still empty and with only her mental map she hoped they didn't start making a habit of filling up the halls now. Janeway traced her steps back to the floor the cells had been, from there she could back step to the shuttle bay where they had docked shuttle two. "Is the shuttle still down?" he asked opening his eyes again and looking over to her.

"We can make enough repairs to get impulse engines online, that's all we need." They reached the shuttle bay hanger, a few guards walking around but they were spread far enough apart Janeway was confident the two could sneak by. She bought her time waiting for the one closest to the shuttle to turn his back and with as much haste as she could muster partially drug Q to the shuttle. Setting him down on the back seat she handed him the phaser. "Here, you take this." She ordered and pulled out the repair kit in the back. "I'm going to work on getting power back online."

Q turned in his chair looking back at her, his breathing starting to slow down a little as he woke up more. "Sorry."

"It's okay you did a pretty good job I think." He looked down at his chest and put a hand over it. "At least I won't bleed to death."

"No, I mean about what I said earlier."

"Oh." Q turned back to look out the shuttle door. "We can talk about it back on Voyager, once Haris and I get to sickbay. Have a real serious conversation, without the yelling." Running the tricorder over one of the panels she nodded her head in agreement.

"We should be good to go, close the shuttle door Q." Janeway started walking back to the front. Standing up Q grimaced then forced a smile on his face, walking over to close the shuttles door. Just his luck, no sooner had he stepped out one of the guards had caught a glimpse of him.

"Kathy get this thing going." He called over to her firing at the guard and missing. He was going to blame that on the fact the man was a long distance from his position and not on his bad phaser skills. The guard ended up firing a few shots at him, the shots bouncing off the shuttle door as it closed. Once it was locked tight Q fell back down in his chair and dropped his phaser. "It's alright now." The shuttle shook as they attempted firing on them with heavier weaponry.

"Q I could use your help as co pilot right now." She called back to him. "Q?" Janeway finally shook her head flying the shuttle out of the hanger bay. Before she could turn around to call him again the shuttle was being hailed. Transferring the message to com she was more than happy to see Chakotay show up on screen. "Chakotay."

"We got your distress call Captain, can you hold a couple of minutes?" The shuttle shook as Cals' ship fired on them again.

"I can try." The shuttle shook again making Janeway grab the side of the con to stabilize herself. "When you get close we need three to beam out to sickbay. Haris and Q were injured in an attack."

"Will do Captain." Chakotay ended the transmission.

Turning in her seat she kept the shuttle on it's course away from Cal's ship. Q was leaning over in his seat, his head down with a hand fixed to his shoulder. "Q." Janeway jumped from her seat and rushed over to him lifting his head up so she could look at him.

"I think they hit me." He tried to laugh, blood seeping between his fingers. "I'll be fine." He was starting to go under again.

"You did this once to me already don't do it again, Voyager is on it's way."

"Would it be seen as cowardly if I said I don't want to do away missions anymore?" He forced a smile on his face.

"No, it's not cowardly of you." She paused a moment trying to smile back at him and hide her concern. Leaning closer Janeway placed a kiss on his lips, ordinarily Q would have been more than happy to kiss her back but right now he was too focused on keeping his eyes opened. Looking back at him she set him up in his chair a little more. "Q, Amelia needs you."

"I know."

"Emily needs you."

He smiled a little "I know."

"I need you." Q looked back at Kathryn with a smile on his face, unable to say anything. For once in his life Q was, quiet. "Yes." He raised a brow a little confused to her apparently random answer. "If you asked me to marry you again, now, today, my answer would still be yes." Q smiled at her, his eyes locked on her face for a moment before he fell back against his seat, his head lulled to the side.


	51. The Worth of a Man

They were beamed into sickbay, Haris laying on one side of her and Q on the other. The doctor and Tom were quick to get Haris onto one of the beds and take readings of him while Janeway sat next to Q pressing her hand against his shoulder. "Wake up Q." Tom looked over Haris as the doctor rushed over to Q and started scanning him with the medical tricorder.

"Mr. Paris assist me with Q, Haris is still stable, Q's life signs are eradicate." He didn't even have the chance to get him on the bed before his life signs started to crash. "Mr. Paris, 10cc's of..." The doctor called out looking back at the tricorder. Slowly he closed it looking back at Kathryn. "Never mind Mr. Paris, attend to Ensign Haris, Q, just experience brain death." Resting a hand on Janeway's shoulder he made an expression on his face as if he would start to cry for her. "I'm sorry Captain, he was already too far gone by the time we got him here."

Janeway looked back at Q feeling a tear roll down the side of her face. "No." Sitting up more she started compressions on his chest before leaning over and giving him mouth to mouth. "He's not dead." The doctor just sat by watching her as she tried to make him breath, tried to jump start his heart again and knowing herself it wasn't going to work. She continued CRP a little while longer before pinching the bridge of his nose again and breathing into his lungs with nothing. "Come on Q." Setting her jaw tight she compressed in his chest one more time, her attempts to restart his heart slowly coming to a stop. Janeway fought back more tears lowering her head close to his, her hand running along the side of his face, his eyes looking up at her but completely devoid of his spark, his show of recognition for her, that devilish little flicker he always seemed to hold. Pressing her lips to his again she waited, hoping he would kiss her back, that he would tell her everything would be alright but he just continued to lay there. Suddenly her quiet calm started falling apart, Janeway wrapping her arms around Q and pressing her face into his shoulder. She couldn't hold back the torrent of tears, she couldn't stop her sobbing and she didn't want to. "Please Q, come back." Talking to the dead never brought them back but he was different, he was a Q. He had to come back. "Don't leave me, I'm so sorry." She sobbed into his ear. "I should have told you before." Her voice was shaking as she cried, wanting him to snap some witty remark at her about crying over him. "That every time you walk into the room my heart starts racing, every time you make a joke, no matter how silly I can't help but smile. You make me laugh, you took away my loneliness, you frustrated me and made me angry but most of all you made me love you. I wish I had let you in more, I wish I had told you more. Please Q, you're hurting me." She could understand what he had meant int he cell about which pain was worse, the injury to his chest or the hurt he felt fearing he was going to die loving someone who didn't love him back. What hurt even more than that was the pain of losing someone who loved you so much it psychically hurt then and knowing you loved them just as much.

She held onto his jacket curling her fingers around the fabric and resting her forehead against his. "I'd do anything for you to just hear me this one time so you can know the truth." Janeway felt the doctors hand on her back but it brought her no comfort as she laid beside Q sobbing, knowing he couldn't be the one to wrap his arms around her and comfort her. Her fear of losing Amelia months ago hadn't felt so daunting as this, in the end when she was vulnerable, when she was afraid Q had been there to give her hope, to help her. No one was here to help her with this, she couldn't accept him leaving because who was left to tell her it was alright? The reality of this took a heavy tole on her as her loud cries turned to silent screams. Her grip on his tightening as she sat back laying her head on his chest, her body shaking. She wished she could take so many things back, that she could have taken a few minutes more out of every day to sit down and talk with him, tell him about when she always thought they might do for a wedding. She hadn't wanted anything big of overly special, just a day where they were surrounded by their friends on Voyager. She wished she had told him how every time he smiled at her she felt a warmth in her face that forced her to smile back, that fluttering in her chest when he wrapped an arm around her, it was all too late back her tears for a moment she took in a deep breath, her body shaking again as she closed her eyes and tried to hold onto the last of the warmth in his body. "Goodbye." The most painful word to say to someone when you knew they would never come back.

The next day everyone had gathered around, Q's body loaded in the torpedo casing coffin and ready to be sent off into the darkness while Voyager went on it's way. Janeway stood by the side playing brave and strong if only for her daughters. Emily held her hand tightly looking up at Janeway now and again and catching the woman shedding a tear as people came to share their words. Tom and Harry spoke of how they had come to be friends with Q, the first time they had gotten in trouble together on the holodeck. The doctor spoke of what an asset Q had been to the medical 'team' and even Seven spoke of Q as a friend and a good person. While Emily understood what was taking place here Amelia seemed blissfully unaware of the situation. Resting her head against her mothers shoulder she started dozing off a little when Ensign Haris took the center stage and rested his hand on top of Q's coffin. "If it was not for Q, I wouldn't be standing here today. When our shuttle came under attack we were both horribly wounded but Q set aside his own needs to save my life. He gave me a second chance, I wish he was here so I could thank him in person. I suppose this is the best I can do. Thank you Q, may we find more men like you and may you inspire us in life, every day, every moment." Haris smiled patting the coffin a few more times.

Janeway would have spoke but she had decided not to, all the words she wanted to say had been for Q alone, words she had already whispered into his ear after the light had faded from his eyes. With a nod of her head Janeway was going to give permission to start the launch but Emily had broken free from her grip and walked over to the coffin brushing her hand over it's surface and narrowing her eyes. "My father passed away here on Voyager, before Captain Janeway and Q became my new parents. I had hoped Q would be able to teach me all the things my father couldn't, that Q would do all the things with me my father had wanted to do. But now Q is gone, and I don't have a father again. I don't know what to do." Emily let a solemn look cross her face as she stood up on her toes and placed a kiss on the coffin. "Goodbye daddy, I'll miss you." Emily looked back at Janeway seeing the woman break down into tears now, she walked calmly back to the captains side and took her hand again pulling a smile across her face. "It's okay, we still have each other." Emily felt her lip quiver as she wrapped her arms around Janeway. She had lost one father already, just once she started getting attached to Q she was now losing him too. Janeway nodded her head again, the sound of the whistle piercing the air as Tom and Kim assisted in loading the coffin up to be set out.

Janeway flinched watching when the coffin was fired out into space, her heart breaking all over again. It was real, it had actually happened. Q was gone. Closing her eyes she fought back the tears again, her jaw clenched tight as a familiar voice entered her mind. _"What would you give to have him back?"_

For a moment she had thought someone standing beside her had spoken. "Everything." Janeway whispered back before noticing no one was actually talking to her.

"What was that you said?" Emily asked looking up at her with tears in her own eyes.

"Nothing."


	52. Friends on the Other Side

Janeway had tucked Emily into bed and kissed her goodnight, it was understandable she wasn't going to get a story tonight. After leaving her room she laid Amelia in her crib and laid down in her bed not even bothering to change out of her uniform. Laying there curled up alone she held his pillow close to her chest taking in what scent had been left behind by him there. She had cried into the pillow until she had fallen asleep, it was easier to cry alone when no one could see their brave captain fall apart. Before she had gone off to dream Janeway had heard that voice in her mind again _"What would you give to have him back?"_

Janeway felt as if she had been startled awake but upon opening her eyes she wasn't on Voyager. Looking around all she could see was an endless empty white, a blinding light that shone all around her, devoid of sound of feeling. No wind, no rustling from even her own clothes. Sitting up she tried to figure out if she way laying on a ground or if the concept of a ground and sky even existed here in this 'dream'. Her red captains uniform stood out in the whitewashed world around her. Janeway got to her feet trying to look behind her, trying to turn but uncertain if she was moving and if it mattered. Spinning around once more she was finally faced with something beyond the white, a figure dressed in white attire and dark hair. "Q." She smiled running to the figure, his back turned to her. Grabbing his shoulder he turned around with a little smirk fixed on his face. He was indeed a Q but not her Q, the Q that had come to their aid once before, the Q who had once been called a friend to her Q. "You."

The Q tilted his head to the side and rested a hand against her face. "Janeway, nice to see you again." Pulling his hand away he rested it to his side once again. "You know, I considered coming to Voyager to 'comfort' you in your time of sorrow but I think someone I know would have hunted me down and honestly mortal or not, he still frightens me a little." The Q joked, playing off her own grief as if it were a game. "Don't look so glum chum." He continued on grabbing her chin and making her look up at him. "When I asked you what you would give to have him back you told me everything. Now I don't want to take everything from my best friends future wife, in fact my price is very small Janeway."

"What do you mean?" She furrowed her brow and stepped back away from him, she knew Q were hard to trust, the only one who's word she could take had been her Q.

"To get Q back, this is about sending him home. I can't very well just let my best friend die can I?" He let out a sigh. "But I do nothing for free." Looking over his hand again he examined his fingers and picked under his nails to somehow perfect them more. "It's not a high price, a thank you will suffice." He glanced back at her. "And a kiss."

"Go to hell." Janeway glared back at him.

"Ouch, I thought you would give everything for him, I'm just asking for a thank you and a kiss captain, not for some sultry night alone with you in your quarters. He would murder me if I did, not that I didn't think to but I have a saying. Never sleep with your best friends fiancee. Even after he has died. Wait half a millennia first and seeing as you won't be around my then it's pointless to try." He smiled a little looking back at her. "I promise I won't bite."

She stood there clenching her fists and glaring still at this Q who thought he somehow could torment her with the death of her Q. "I..."

He raised a finger pressing it over her lips. "Ssssshhh, don't argue, what would I have to gain from tricking you? Captain please, don't think so little of me. Think of Q, do it for him."

She rolled her eyes and looked away from him a moment before glaring back at him. "Thank you." She huffed hoping he wasn't lying to her.

"And?" Q raised a brow as Janeway leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. He sat there leaning towards her and pretending he would allow her to just get away with that until she was close enough. Turning his head slightly he caught her on the lips knowing he would regret that latter, for sure. Breaking away from her he stood back with a cheeky little smile on his face, so proud of his little accomplishment. "I have been dying to do that." Pointing over his shoulder he shrugged a little. "Promise not to tell him though, I won't ever live it down." Janeway was about to ask him if he was going to keep his end of the bargain but the Q snapped his fingers before she could get the first words out. In a flash of light another man appeared, slightly taller than the first Q, her own body clad in the same white attire, his dark hair holding a slight curl.

"Q?"

The man turned around looking at her with dark eyes, a smile slipping across his face. "Kathy." It was finally the right one, her Q. Rushing forward she threw her arms around him holding him tight and crying softly into his shoulder. "Kathy, you're shaking. What's wrong?"

"You died." She whimpered against him holding him even tighter for fear she would wake up from her dream and realize he was still gone. Even if she could only have him in this moment, in her dreams then it was all she needed. "You're gone."

"No, I'm right here." He wrapped his own arms around her running a hand along her back. He felt real, his body was warm, she could feel his every breath, his hand against her back, his breath in her hair. "Kathy, it's alright now. Did you think the continuum would really just let me die like that? I have two troublesome offspring to look after. They won't let me off that easily. Besides no one else wanted to accept the task to go back and keep them in line." He laughed realizing it hadn't made her feel any better. "And there is the problem with Nexus, he's not a task for a mortal to look after. Point is they need me more than they like to think and I like to think you need me more than you admit, and the girls certainly need me and they know it." Kissing the top of her head lightly instead he just let her hold him and cry all she wanted. "I heard what you said to me. That was, well, thank you."

She finally pulled her face away from his shoulder and looked up at him, her grip on his shirt tightening again as he tried to step back away from her. "Is it really you or is this a trick?"

"It's me Kathy."

"How do I know?" She asked still not certain she could believe this.

"How about, well you told me you use to be a dancer and take dance lessons, you wished you had learned to play a musical instrument as a child, you love roses and the way they smell but they remind you of your fathers funeral and so when I mentioned having them at our wedding one day you told me you would prefer white lilies. I think that's perfect, you would look beautiful holding lilies anyways, or white orchids. Do you remember when I said that? One of the secrets to putting Amelia to sleep is also running the water in the bathroom, we still don't know why, only the sink works, anywhere else and she will get wet her diaper and cry more. I think it's because she likes the sound it make son the marbles. I also distinctly recall you hate it when I check you out in front of the crew, I'm not good at hiding it...especially in those starfleet uniforms." He paused pulling out one last fact he could use on her. "Oh and have I ever told you how annoying it is that you always try to skip going to sickbay when you get sick?"

That was a mouthful of information but certainly things Q would know. "I'm sorry." She cried wrapping her arms around him again. "I should have told you how much you meant to me before. Q, I..." She looked back at him letting out a sigh as that familiar feeling came back to her, that fluttering in her chest, that slight light headed feeling. "I love you."

"I know." He smirked kissing her again.

The other Q turned his back and attempted to cover his eyes. "Disgusting, if you two are going to copulate please save that for on Voyager."

Q turned back to his friend wrapping one arm around Janeway. "And don't think I didn't notice you asking for that kiss."

"Well you didn't stop me." The other Q sassed.

"I was actually kind of hoping she was going to punch you in the face." Q glanced back to Janeway. "I'm not disappointed Kathy, but that's the last time you'll be doing that Q." He looked back at Kathy again and kissed her on the forehead once more. "Report to the ready room captain. I have a surprise for you there." Q snapped his fingers making Janeway vanish in a flash of light.

She sat up in her bed looking around her room and wondering if she had only been dreaming or if that had been real. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she stood up and walked over to the crib gazing down at Amelia. She was still fast asleep. Pulling the blankets up on the baby's chest Janeway brushed her fingers against Amelia's face lightly and smiled, she could see so much of him on that little girl and not surprisingly Emily. It would be hard to look at them and not think of Q. Turning her attention back to her room she took in a deep breath. It was easier to accept a dream as a dream but there remained the smallest spark of hope her dream had been real. Even if Janeway knew she would be let down she walked out of her room and down to the turbolift. Taking it up to deck one she walked past the ghost crew for the night shift and stepped into her ready room not at all surprised it was empty. Still Janeway did a quick search of the room, nothing was out of place, there wasn't anything new or unusual waiting for her. Reality struck her again, her heart sinking as she brushed another tear from her eye. Just as she turned to walk back out of her ready room Janeway paused pulling a smile across her face.

She looked down to her hand, on her ring finger the engagement ring Q had given her secured in it's place. She could have taken it off, she could put it back in the top drawer next to her bed but she didn't and she wouldn't. She could have begged for her miracle but it seemed her miracle hadn't come. Janeway reached up to open the door to the ready room and walk out again when a flash of light behind her had caught her attention. Freezing in her step she held her breath waiting, waiting for a sign, a voice, waiting for Q's friend from the continuum to taunt her, waiting for Q himself to say something, anything. And then words were spoken that broke the silence. "Hello Kathryn."


	53. What Once Was Mine

"Q?" She spoke, not even needing to turn around to know it was him, she could tell from the sound of his voice who it was. "Am I still dreaming?"

"You never were." Janeway turned around to see him propped up on her desk somewhat playfully, twirling a white orchid in his fingers so she knew there was proof they had this conversation already. "And I'm not a trick, or a mental breakdown before you question yourself. Though it you had a mental breakdown over me I would be slightly flattered but I don't expect that. You are a strong woman Kathryn. That's what I love about you."

Walking back to her desk she rested her hands on top the smooth surface looking back at him. "You promise me this is really real?"

He smiled at her, his playful nature seeming to have returned in full even after his 'death'. Then again he was omnipotent again, it was hard not to feel 150%, though she didn't have to know half of the reason he was so chipper was because he had his powers back. As far as Kathy should be concerned his was just elated to be 'home'. That was just as much true, keeping him away from Emily and Amelia would have been difficult, even in death, keeping him away from Kathryn, impossible. Leaning a little closer to her from the desk he flashed one of his impish grins, Q might have been all powerful and had an IQ above anything else in the universe but his personality was much like a school boys, always up to some sort of mischief. Janeway hated to admit it was one of the things she was attracted to. Besides under all the ego and arrogance was an honest man with a good heart. A man who made her laugh, smile, and who was capable of quoting more authors than she could possibly comprehend. "You have legs for days or as Tom says nice stems." Q chuckles about that comment still. Why on earth had Tom yelled that to Torres? She could have crushed his skull but apparently it was working for them. "and I can't keep my hands off your back end. Why? I don't know it's a human thing I think." He slapped her ass lightly with a devilish grin. "And if this was a dream I wouldn't be so rude because you would want to remember me at my best and not my worst so eat that up Captain Hotpants." These were all the things that had crossed his mind but as a mortal he had learned to keep that big mouth of his shut. Kathryn could kill him when he was mortal, now he could snap his fingers and save himself against the wrath storm called captain Rageway. "And don't bother trying to hurt me, I'm hard to kill."

What happened next Q hadn't expected, in fact he was surprised when Janeway leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Shouldn't she be putting her hands on her hips and giving him the death glare for being rude? Rather than sit there in a state of shock and awe Q kissed her back seeming to set something off on her as she moved closer to him and pressed her chest against his. Don't get him wrong, making out with Kathy was exactly how he wanted to spend his nights but he hadn't been expecting her to be so 'forgiving' to his little tangent. When they had transported him to sickbay after his death Janeway had kissed him wanting nothing more than to have Q open his eyes and kiss her back, now that he could she wasn't going to let something as little as Q's snarky comments stop her. If you didn't love someone at their worst you didn't deserve them at their best. The sensation of his lips against hers, his breath against her mouth, his hands sliding down her back and holding her closer to him, the sensation of his heartbeat against her chest. It was everything she had lost, everything she had wanted to get back, everything she had fought for. She had refused to let him go in the sickbay, she had tried reviving him even after the doctor called out his official death. Sending his body off had been the hardest thing she could ever do, watching that torpedo case float off, go back to her room any lay in her bed alone knowing the one person who made her feel better on her worst days was the person they had just left behind. Janeway started crying again, fighting against it as Q bit her lip lightly and pulled back holding her shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"No." Janeway took in deep breaths trying to calm herself down. "I watched you die. I tried to save you. I lost you." Q brushed away her tears and felt a little bad the continuum had let him hang in the wind like that for so long.

"But I'm here now, and I'm not leaving you again." He had to admit getting his immortality back wasn't as great a gift as he would have liked. His powers on the other hand, that was nice but the thought of living billions of years after she was gone. If Kathy thought it was hard to have lost him then she would understand that knowing he was going to live every day losing her with the passing of each day would be just as horrid. "I'm sorry they put you through that Kathy." He pulled her in close to him again and wrapped his arms around her placing a kiss to her cheek only to have her lock lips with him again. Again, making out with her, not the worst thing to happen after coming back from the dead. Q leaned back a little making Janeway follow him up onto her desk. He was starting to like where this was going. After all last time he had seen any action not involving a phaser had been almost nine month back before Amelia had been born. Try to get 'lucky' with a baby in the room was impossible. Any humanoid males who had discovered a means to doing so could consider themselves close to Q status with their powers of persuasion. Laying her back against her desk Q felt her pull up on his uniform, not really the easiest things to get out of when you were in the mood. They were likely designed with that in mind. Snapping his fingers he recalled he now had the power to change all that. Jaeway hadn't even noticed the transition from her starfleet uniform to her silky pink spaghetti strapped nightgown, Q changed up into his red satin sleepwear. He always was one for the finer things in life after all. "Kathy, this is going to be the second time I have seduced you in your ready room. Ready room indeed, this seems to be my good luck charm." He finally spoke up before placing kisses along her neck and collar bone.

"The night shift is already on the bridge for the night." She reminded him and pushed him back, as much as she would have loved for this to continue here and now wasn't the best time. Even if Janeway was willing to stop so she might set a good example for everyone on the ship Q wasn't too keen on holding back. He moved his lips over to her shoulder biting at her skin lightly and making it hard for her to push up on his chest. Engaged or not, captain or not, she had set Tom and B'elanna straight over showing their affections in public. She had been serious about being respectful, what they did in their quarters was their own but what they did on the rest of her ship was her concern. She held herself with the same rules and regulations. Besides even if she wasn't on her shift she was still on the bridge considering the bridge was just outside those doors. "Q." She spoke up again, her breath catching in the back of her throat when he grabbed her wrist and pinned it down over her head. Q still ignored her nipping at her neck and pausing a moment to snap his fingers again.

"There, problem solved. Now you can still set a good example for the rest of starfleet." He spoke quietly into her ear before sitting up a little and smiling down at her. "Besides it would be a little weird if you started moaning and groaning, as far as everyone is concerned I'm still dead. Poor little Harry Kim wouldn't be able to focus on playing captain."

"Just what did you do?" Uh oh, she had that tone of voice again that she got when she was afraid he did something bad.

"Oh nothing horrible, I just pulled this room out of phase and time with the rest of Voyager. I'll put it back to normal afterwards." He purred in her ear again brushing his lips over her neck. "What, did you think I did something worse than that?"

"No, I just remember what happened the last time you were a Q and got me alone in this room while I was vulnerable." She raised a brow and looked back at him as he sat up again with that devilish smile of his face.

"Amelia happened." That hadn't been such a bad outcome in the end. Even if that little baby defied nature by staying awake long after she had fallen into a sleepy trance that made her look a little like a zombie who started crying the second you tried putting her down in her crib. It was both their faults really for coddling her as a newborn and almost never putting her down, now she expected attention constantly. "Afraid Amelia and Emily will get a little sibling?" Q ran his fingers lightly down her side making Janeway flinch a little. She was fairly ticklish even if she tried not to admit it and he tried not to poke at her too much in front of others though it could have been entertaining. If you so much as reached for her side just under her rib cage she would squirm without even being touched.

"No, because you wouldn't dare." He was smarter than that, Q or not if he did Janeway would have found one of those weapons from the continuum and at least made him contemplate the danger he had put himself in.

"Oh, I don't know. I could start my own continuum then. Emily, Amelia, maybe six or seven other kids. I would call it the J continuum." Q teased as Janeway rolled her eyes at him. "It's a good idea don't roll your eyes at me. Just think, I would be the founding father of a new continuum and we would have much more fun than the Q continuum." He leaned back over her and kissed her on the lips.

"I'll remind you of that when your girls are teenagers." She teased back. He wasn't unaware of human females and their unpredictability once they hit their teen years. That was going to be a trip and a half. Still that was a long way away, he could enjoy two adorable little girls for several years before he devised a proper way to repel boys away from his darling little angels.

"That is why my dear Kathryn our next one would be a boy." He mussed actually wondering if giving a male Kathryn's temperament could ever be a good idea. He had already met a grown version of Amelia and being at the receiving end of her anger had been frightful. Those damn Irish women were fiery little things, Kathy was so full of fire herself. Even passing half of that to a male would be tempting fate. "Besides I think I surpassed my quota for progeny already." He had been allowed to make one, but ONE hybrid child and that had been Amelia. They didn't blame him for Emily but the fact that there were now two Q offspring in existence put them all on edge and before coming back to Voyager Q was forced into a serious conversation with the others. Both Emily and Amelia had to be held at high standards, they had to learn to behave themselves or one or both would have their powers stripped from them. A fate Q didn't want to risk. Removing them from the Q Continuum could re-spark the civil war and prove Q was wrong about spreading compassion through the ranks.

"Yes, so have I." She commented, not because having two children was already a handful for her but because two children in the delta quadrant was a handful for her. Besides as Q once brought up, she wasn't getting any younger.

"Yes, five kids is a lot." Janeway furrowed her brow wondering what the hell he was counting. Where had he pulled these other three mystery children from? Unless he was counting Rowley into the equation, and himself, maybe even Tom since he acted like a child sometimes. "You know, Emily, Amelia, Tom Jr, Kathryn Jr, and Bob." Q gave her a wicked little smirk only to be hit him in the chest.

"Don't you even..."

"Ouch you hit like a girl Kathy." He grabbed his chest pretending she had hurt him. She always got angry when he brought that up. Raising a finger he put it in front of her face. "Just remember who's on top." Tapping the end of her nose his smile became a little more sincere.

"Just remember who knows how to fire a phaser better, thirteen rounds of velocity 12/1 as I remember it." She pointed out how poor he was with a phaser or really most combat situations.

Q lowered himself a little closer to her again. "I can think of some other things I would like to get thirteen rounds in with you." He pressed his lips against her's again smiling when she didn't try to fight him off or stop him. He should really try to die more often if it got her to be a little more affectionate towards him. Sliding his hand back along her side he got to her leg slowly walking the fabric of her nightgown up her thigh with his fingers until he reached bare skin. Despite their little playful banter and make out session Janeway had reached down and caught his hand to stop him from any further opportunity he would like to take. Q caught her hand again and pinned it back over her head, maybe he should invest in handcuffs or shackles but really the thought of putting her in something like that bothered him. She was too 'spirited' to be restrained. "Would you consider it strange if I said I just want to play with your body." He looked back up at her seeing her blush a little, her cheeks taking on a bright red color. "I promise I won't break you."

"You just came back from the dead, is it really a good idea?" She panted a little.

"Kathryn you started it you little tease." Sitting up a little herself she kissed him again running her tongue over his teeth, that was a good enough answer for him. For a little moment longer he got lost in her taste and leaning her back against the desk until she was firmly in place. Wrapping on of his hand over her breast he squeezed it gently shifting her beneath him and moving his lips back down along her neck and shoulder then to her collar bone. "Need I remind you foreplay with a Q can last decades?"

"Need I remind you we have two children who need parents for the next couple of decades?" Yes that would be a problem actually, especially for Amelia who was just starting to eat things like applesauce for the first time and only let Q feed her because his funny faces and noises he made convinced her a spoon wasn't going to attack her. All that practice tormenting Kathy had actually paid off.

"Point taken." He went back to kissing her along her chest and trailing down to her stomach before pausing again. "I'll cut the time down by ten in that case." Q raised one of her legs kissing her knee and moving down along her leg placing kisses on her inner thigh. Janeway clenched her hand into firsts feeling his warm breath over her. She arched her back slightly feeling his tongue slip into her, her eyes rolling back a little as he reminded her why she had conveniently gotten so 'sick' nearly every day at noon when he had his break from sickbay and went to go 'lay' down. Then again hormones and an increased sex drive had also been to blame as well. The only drawback now was when she reached over her head to grab a pillow all she had was hard solid desk. Groaning a little Janeway took in slow deep breaths. While he continued she slowly moved up along the desk grabbing onto the edge and holding onto it letting out another moan. For never having done this with anyone else he certainly was good at it though Janeway was still convinced he only said she was the first being he had mated with to make her feel special. He certainly didn't need to do that, especially since he was well aware he had not been her first sexual partner.

"Oh god, Q." Her voice was breathy as she contorted a little and making Q laugh to himself.

"I have been called god like before but I think you are the first person to actually call me a god." He wiggled his brows at her. He felt like the could really fight each other, they were like cats and dogs, but in the end they always made up like rabbits. Well not always, more so they made up like adults who had learned little lessons but it was more fun to make up like rabbits. "Feel any better Mrs. Q?" He asked her as he moved back up her body pulling the hem of her nightgown up with him.

"Mrs. Q? What on earth are you talking about Mr. Janeway?" She teased him back, they already had this conversation once before. As much as he wanted it to happen she wasn't going to be Captain Q, Janeway was a good enough name already and besides Emily and Amelia were both proper little Janeway's already.

Q pulled his pants down a little as he kissed her chest, a smile fixed on his lips when she tried to 'argue' with him again. He liked keeping her at least a little distracted with their playful arguments. A battle of wits, a show of affection, and of course a little nocturnal activity. That was their relationship in a nutshell. "This." He commented pressing her leg against his body and sliding up into her. She grabbed a hold of the back of her desk again, her head titled back as she let out a little gasp. "Feeling better yet?"

"Yes." She gasped as he thrusted into her slowly, his hand fixed on her leg as he rocked into her. Q supported his weight with his free hand planted down on the desk beside her. Leaning in closer he rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes a moment listening to her moan. Slowly he picked up his speed, Janeway's hands moving from the desk and grabbing onto his shirt, the fabric wound around her fingers as she moaned into his ear. Q dropped his head against her shoulder breathing heavily against her smooth skin as he continued to pick up his pace. Every time she took a breath, every time she uttered a little cry it only managed to excite him more and drive harder into her until her hand moved up into his hair and grabbed onto his locks. Hair pulling wasn't something she normally did but he wasn't going to stop her now. Resting his teeth against her shoulder he tried kissing her a little, his hips still swinging into her as those kisses turned into nibbles and soon Q just bit down making sure not to bite her too hard. She didn't necessarily like it rough but it was difficult to resist when she made noses that made him feel somewhat predatory, some more primal long forgotten part of his Q nature waking up. "Oh." She squirmed under him feeling the tension build up as her grip in his locks tightened, her head falling back again while she took in deep quick breaths. "Q." Her tone of voice was alluring, hypnotic, only making Q race for the finish line. He had to hold out, keep himself in total control. There was nothing more embarrassing than finishing before she did though since he was no longer a mere mortal man that wouldn't be so much of an issue anymore. "Q."

He loved it when she started crying out his name, at least she hadn't eve said someone else name. If she screamed Mark he might have jumped up and walked away. Not that it would be her fault but during something like this you didn't want her to think about another man. Q tried to make a witty remark but found himself a little too short of breath to speak. At least until he noticed her fall silent, no longer breathing. It was fairly normal for her before she reached her climax. All at once that tension came to an end, breaking free from the flood gates and making the captain cry out again, a lot louder than she had before. Q couldn't help but smile a little as he finally let himself go to lose his perfected tempo and devolve into sporadic jerks and thrusts. Letting go of her leg he wrapped his arms around her partially lifting her off the desk as he reached his own climax and groaned into her shoulder. After hitting his peak he slowed down kissing her on the neck lightly and setting her back down against the desk so he could catch his breath. "Kathy." He groaned as he pulled out of her and just let himself drape over her, his head rested against her shoulder still. "Did I break you?"

She laid there a moment pulling her fingers from his hair and resting her hand on her chest and she tried to settle down a little more. Still trying to remind herself that this afternoon she had thought she would never see him again and then they had this moment alone together. Reminding her just how much she loved him and how much he could make the otherwise proper captain anything but. He drove her a little crazy but in a way she liked. "I think..." She paused taking in another breath. "Just a little." She laughed moving a hand up and resting it on his head, her fingers playing with his hair. "As captain I am giving you the order to at least get me to take a little time out of my busy schedule once a week for this."

"So I can show you all the tricks I can do with my photon torpedo?"

"Engage." She laughed kissing the top of his head.

"Now do you remember why you like me so much?"

"Oh, I like you for more than just this." She smiled as Q sat up and looked down at her. He brushed his nose against hers feeling more than content to just hold her for a little while longer. "So what's the score on this one Captain? If the point mine."

"I'll say." She laughed again, her smile fading when he pressed his lips against hers once more.

"Computer make that a note, round one to Q. How about the next twelve rounds now?"

"Well, I don't know about twelve more rounds but...if you insist on making this a competition to see who wins then I insist we see it through until we have claimed a victor."

Q pushed himself up a little and chuckled. "I love it when you get competitive." He kissed her again moving back to her ear. "So round two then?"

"Engage."


	54. Meeting an Old Friend

Q continued to bounce Amelia on his knee as she chewed on a teething ring. Since she had started cutting teeth she was having those horrible mornings, horrible afternoons, and even worse nights. Her mouth was in a lot of pain and it even prevented her from eating despite the medication she was getting to numb her gums. This morning had been no different for the little baby as she started out crying with her fingers in her mouth and looking up at Q for help. He had managed to give Kathy another two hours of extra sleep while he entertained Amelia. It was easier not being mortal, as a Q again he didn't need sleep, it was juts a luxury he used an an excuse to cuddle Janeway while she was sleeping. Once it got around to the normal time when the captain woke up to get ready for her day Q picked up Amy and carried her over to the bed so he could set her down at the foot of it. "Go on, go wake your mother up you little monster."

Amelia had been a fast learner, crawling was one of her specialties along with sitting on her own without falling over, though it still happened. She moved with the greatest speed possible across the bed before she tripped herself up on the blankets and fell forward but that would not stop the baby on a mission. Pulling herself back up she cooed at Janeway, her random noises were not sounding more like words but they were sounding more intentional and less instinctual. Amelia finally reached Janeway, reaching a hand out and grabbing her mothers nose. "Say good morning Amy." Q encouraged her to poke at her mother until the captain woke up. "Give her a kiss." The baby had discovered the art of kissing a few weeks ago which was fine so long as you didn't dislike being covered in baby slobber. What was even more impressive was her ability to actually blow kisses, another concept she had grasped quickly only because people paid a lot of attention to her when she slapped a hand over her mouth and pulled it away to look like she was blowing a kiss.

The baby girl leaned forward drooling on the side of Janeway's face and giving her a 'kiss' before she fell forward and accidentally hit the captain a little with a balled up fist. That certainly had woken the captain up as she opened one of her eyes and rubbed the other before noticing one side of her face was a little wet. "Say wake up mommy, I'm hungry and wait for no one." Q laughed as Amy got back up and just yelled. She didn't yell anything, just a very long yell, picked the vowel of the week and shouted it in Janeway's face.

"Morning." She smiled at her daughter and reached up to her as Amy fell back over. "Daddy teaching you bad habits this morning like hitting people?" She continued to rub her eye before sitting up in bed a little more and picking the baby up. Amelia was far more active and independent now that she was mobile but when it came to Janeway she would always lay back and cuddle up.

"No, I told her to give you a kiss not a mean right hook." He corrected Janeway.

"Oh, so that's what that was." She laughed. Amelia curled up in her arms and smiled up at her mother, laughing a little herself when she saw her mother laugh. Amy liked to make others think she was such a happy baby when in reality she was a fairly fussy one. She had been from day one, never able to decide if she wanted up or down. For you to hold her or leave her alone, and certainly the worst if she was hungry or just wanted attention.

"At least she is finally happy. Spent the past two hours walking up and down the hall screaming. I'm sure everyone on this deck was happy about that."

"Who was screaming? You or Amelia?" Janeway teased him as Q handed Amy her teething ring.

"Both of us." He tickled Amelia in the side, she was just about as ticklish as her mother was and like her mother she would take only so much of it before it went from being funny to making her angry. Unfortunately in Amelia's case angry and crying were the same thing. "I hate seeing her in pain. She looks so pathetic and just wants me to help her but I can't." Being a Q again had it's advantages, he could understand Amelia with ease and help both the girls with their powers or correcting 'accidents' but at the same time it made him feel helpless when Amelia looked up at him and just kept asking for him to help her and all he could do was give her more medicine and something to chew on. "I'm also taking Amelia to meet someone today so you can captain your little captain heart out and not worry about her."

Janeway smiled at her daughter. "Quite the opposite, I'll be twice as worried." She was just barely alright with being away from Amelia for a few hours at a time before she tracked him down and took her back. It was no wonder Amelia had a problem with being clingy to her mother. The little girl had been improving on it, Janeway not so much. Luckily Emily helped her with that, her attention had to be split on two children and a ship with a crew of 148. Janeway would never have in a million years become a stay at home mother but if they had been back on earth she would have taken some time off work to look after Amelia. She just never had that luxury here in the delta quadrant. Voyager needed it's captain and Amelia needed her mother. At some point Janeway told herself it would get easier but it never really did. Luckily Q was a stand up father in his own right, even with his powers and ego back in full.

"Kathy, I haven't lost her yet have I?" Janeway continued to cuddle her daughter acting as though she wasn't paying attention to Q. "Besides we have fun together, she's starting to take after her papa." He made a funny face at Amelia riling up a laugh from her.

"I know, that's what I worry about. One of you is more than any one person can handle." She paused as Amelia sat up more and rested her head on Janeway's shoulder. "It's not that I don't trust you, I just..."

"You're a good mother, a overly protective one but a very good one. Besides we won't be away for long, when we get back you can cuddle her all you want."

Janeway looked back to Amelia and ran her fingers through the baby's dark little curls. "Do you want to leave Voyager and go with daddy to who only knows where?" Q started making a bunch of funny faces at her so Amelia would giggle more and 'sway' her answer a little. Janeway rolled her eyes and glanced back to Q leaning in a little closer to him and kissing him on the lips. "I guess daddy's convinced me, that's what I get for bringing 'home' this witty, charming, and silly man isn't it."

"You think I'm charming? What about dashing?" He leaned in a little closer and wrapped an arm around her. "That's alright I think you're hot." And then sometimes he wasn't so charming and more blunt or painfully honest. He certainly never held back from speaking his mind.

"So just who are you going to go see with our daughter?"

Q turned on his heels putting her fingertips together and tapping them lightly with a devious little smile. "Oh, just an old friend from the Alpha Quadrant." Before she asked he raised his hand. "No I can't tell anyone you are alive and Voyager is coming home or send letters home. I'm on thin enough ice Kathy, they even considered letting me stay dead." He ran a hand over his chest where he had been mortally wounded. "And I don't know about you but being dead is a real drag on my social life." He walked back to her side, "But you know if it was up to me, I would send you back home in a heartbeat."

"I know." She still looked a little disappointed. Just as she was expected to follow starfleet protocol she knew Q had to obey his own set of rules. The continuums version of the prime directive, even if he bent it quite a bit by maintaining a relationship with her.

"Don't look so sad Kathryn, I'll make it up to you." He couldn't take her home but he would do something nice for her. Amelia was a little above the ordinary laws set between Q's and humans since she was part Q after all and now that he had his powers back it was time for Q to start teaching his baby bird how to really use those wings of hers. Emily on the other hand, the continuum hadn't quite made up their mind on her. She was more human than Q but still a member of the continuum. "I promise."


	55. Q vs Captain

It had been a fairly uneventful day aboard the Enterprise as Captain Picard sat in his captains seat. His day might have continued to go well until a familiar bright flash sparked behind him on the bridge. The Captain stiffened his back and turned to face the Q dressed in Starfleet Captains uniform but not the current style. It was curious as to why he was dressed in the old red and black uniform rather than the current slate and black uniform. "Q." Jean Luc groaned as he got to his feet and caught a glimpse of a baby in his arms. The little girl was dressed a lot like her father, the same red and black starfleet command uniform. "What's the meaning of this?" He growled at the miscreant aboard his ship. Oh how Q had missed his other favorite starfleet captain. Squandering away all his time with Kathryn he had nearly forgotten about Picard, but not for long. It had been too long since last he faced off against his first starfleet captain and it felt nostalgic being back on the Enterprise.

"Hello Picard." Q walked away from the wall and down the ramp to the Captain. "I would like you to meet someone, you're Goddaughter." Q smiled, if Picard refused to be Amelia's godfather he was going to be very disappointed in him. After all he had fought Kathryn on it and he had hurt the doctors feelings. "Amelia." Q looked down at the baby in his arms. "This is daddy's old friend, Captain Picard."

"Daughter?" The Captain spoke up before it finally hit him, this was possibly the worst news he had ever heard. It seemed his troubles had just doubled, Q having a child, if he was a superstitious man he would have considered it one of the first signs of the apocalypse.

"Just showing her the ropes of how to be a proper little Q, only five months old and she's already causing trouble in the universe." He sounded so proud of his little Amelia and honestly he was. Human parents praised their children for such little things like learning to walk, talk, dress themselves. Q was lucky enough to be proud about things like Amelia spawning a dozen butterflies in her mothers ready room or teleporting herself around Voyager to avoid bedtime. What a wicked little adorable creature she could be just like her papa. "And besides, as her Godfather Picard I felt it important she met you in person."

"I don't remember agreeing to be your, child's Godfather." Picard snapped back.

Q put on a fake sad face and raised Amelia up a little. "Why not? Just look at that face, how could you say no to that face?" He looked at Amelia holding her up a little more. "She has my cheekbones and my wicked sense of humor." Amelia was chewing on her own hand with a little smile on her face, drool running down from her mouth and falling on her little captains uniform. "Normally she's less gross and more adorable, she's just getting her first teeth right now." Amelia had never been what Q called a 'soggy' baby, one that drools and slobbers more than a dog but with her teething she had apparently developed over active saliva glands. "Besides I fought her mother for months over the right to ask you to be Amelia's Godfather."

Picard nodded his head slightly. "In that case, my condolences to her mother."

Q opened his mouth looking a little shocked and offended. "Insult me all you like Jean Luc, you seem to have given the rest of Starfleet quite the warning about me, I guess it didn't work that well. After all one of your brave mighty Captains fell to my charm." He sassed back hugging Amelia. "In fact her mother seems to think Amelia is going to be starfleet material. One day who knows Amelia might serve on Enterprise." Q smiled and looked between them before handing her unceremoniously to Picard. Picard looked a little stunned holding the baby and glancing between her and Q.

"A Q in starfleet?" He would hope to be retired when that day came.

"Well, half Q, she's half human as well you know, the first little hybrid." Q smiled at Picard, he looked good with a baby in his arms, shame he couldn't get that doctor lady of his. What was her name again? Snappy Yappy Red Head? "In fact I would grantee you know Amelia's mother. Trust me I picked a sensible human mate. I mean, Amelia can't be a complete copy of myself that would be arrogant even for me." Q glanced over at William Riker knowing he was considered attractive to the human females. "And I would certainly hope Commander Riker Doesn't know her." Now he remembered why Chuckles bothered him, he was the less intelligent version of Will. Always kissing up to the Captain, Q didn't like that a whole lot. One needed to have a concept of individuality like Tom. Tom was perfect in every way.

"Do I now?" Picard asked.

"Well I did mention Amelia's mother is a starfleet Captain." Q smirked.

"I find that very hard to believe." He knew just about every Captain in Starfleet and he knew none of them would put up with Q, at least any more than he would. Sisko most of all it would seem as word had gotten around quickly that Sisko had really given Q a piece of his own mind.

"Well, it wasn't love at first sight, thank you for corrupting her by the way with talk of what a horrible creature I am. She gave me quite the run around but in the end women just can't resist this."

"I don't believe you."

"Well I would prove it to you but...she's a little displaced at the moment lets say." Q felt like his abilities were being challenged and by Picard none the less.

Picard must have believed him at least a little as he lunged at Q seeming somewhat upset. "What did you do with her?"

Putting his hands up in a defensive position Q shook his head. "Don't look at me, I didn't do anything to her. She was stuck there before I showed up." How sweet of Picard, being protective over his fellow Starfleet Captains. "Trust me Picard Janeway is a big girl, she can more than handle herself and me. You don't need to worry about her." Q covered his mouth having let her name slip. "I wasn't suppose to say that." Snapping his fingers the two were transported to Picard's Ready Room where the 'children' couldn't overhear the adults having a conversation. Q pointed at Picard "You can't tell anyone about this, I'm not suppose to interfere with the natural order of events."

"Captain Kathryn Janeway?" Picard questioned to make sure they were talking about the same person. If anyone would have rejected Q it would have been her most of all.

"So you know her?" Q tried not to show his obvious concern over that, William Riker may have been a mortal woman's living fantasy, he has his face permanently set to stunning but Picard was smart and charming. The sort of man Kathy would find interesting. Who knew maybe they met as some Starfleet Captain Pot Luck.

"I knew Admiral Janeway and I know about what happened to Voyager." Picard looked back down at Amelia seeing the startling resemblance. He had met Kathryn Janeway a few times himself but before she had become a Captain. Once while she was still in Starfleet academy studying at a little coffee shop. She was a smart woman. The second time had been while she served as a science officer, she had been with a Vulcan called Tuvok, someone that as Picard recalled had taught at Starfleet academy himself. Kathryn had always been polite and charming but made a point to stand out from the crowd. It hadn't surprised Picard to know she had become a captain and was given Voyager. She certainly had taken after her father the Vice Admiral Janeway, a man who had been close friends with Picard in his youth.

"And you can't report what I told you to Starfleet or they will be very upset with me." He rolled his eyes, as much as he would love to tell Picard to run to starfleet and tell them Voyager needed their help Voyager had to figure it out for themselves, Kathryn had to figure it out for herself how to get home. He could just push her in the right direction. "Besides I have to set a good example for Amelia which is why I asked for you to be her Godfather. If anyone can help make a future starfleet captain out of her it would be you." If Amelia took after her mother more than her father, that would be the only way for her to ever have hopes of being a Starfleet Captain. Amelia cooed a little looking back up at Picard with a big smile on her face. "See, she had faith in you." For being Q's progeny she was a fairly cute little thing but Picard was still a little suspicious of Q and why shouldn't he be? Q introduced them to one of their worse foes, the Borg. "So what do you say?"

Picard let out a sigh and looked back at Q, "If Starfleet has any hope then I would have to keep an eye on her, for Starfleet's sake." That was as good as he would get for a yes. "But lets start with something a little more, obtainable. How about learning to be polite."

"Oh believe me her mother already has that one covered." Q sassed, Kathryn was full of valiant idea's she was imprinting upon Amelia's little mind and even as a bay it showed. Amy had a strong sense of right and wrong for a five month old.

"I was talking about you." Picard snapped back. Amelia giggled making Q frown a little more, his own daughter was against him and siding with Picard? Maybe picking him as the Godfather had been a bad idea. As her father didn't he deserve some respect? He had made a little monster out of her. "Seems your little Amelia agrees with me, hmm, perhaps she is Captain Janeway's daughter after all."

"Peachy." Q raised a brow and took Amelia back. "She does take after her mother quite a bit, wait until she grows up." He bounced his daughter and brushed away a little slobber from her mouth. "Well, we should get going, Kathy is already nervous enough with me taking Amy off Voyager. Can't keep her waiting or she might drop me off on the nearest M class planet, not that it will work anymore. Say bye bye to Captain Picard Amelia." Q took her little hand and forced her to wave at Picard though Amelia had a less than pleased look on her face. "Bye-bye." In a flash Q and Amelia were gone leaving Picard to stand there with her arms crossed over his chest. So much for uneventful days.

Q had appeared in the downstairs of an old styled country farm house, a little red rose in his hands and Amelia drooling all over his shoulder now. It was dark in the house, clearly night time on this side of the planet. Setting the rose down on a nearby table he pulled a little note from his pocket and rested it next to the flower, a small messaged written on it saying 'Don't give up hope.' It was the best Q could do considering the circumstances. Perhaps it would make sense to her one day when Voyager contacted earth. When Amelia let out a stream of babble Q put a hand over her mouth. "Sshhhh, don't wake her up Amy." Q walked towards a staircase that lead to the supper level of the house and made sure no one had turned on any lights after his daughters attempt to spout poetry, or so he liked to think. "You'll get to meet her some day too Amelia, just not today. I think she needs to have your mommy explain that one."


	56. Message in a Bottle

All the adults were very excited about this link they were able to make to Earth and send letters home, in the end it had been the Doctor they were forced to send to Starfleet but the one good thing still remained, now they knew. Starfleet, Earth, their families could all know Voyager was still out there and they were trying to come home. While the adults were happy about it the children were having a little more trouble with it. Naomi and Amelia had been born on Voyager, Voyager WAS home as far as they were concerned and to Emily she was made in a lab, she didn't have a sense of home, her only real belonging had been her first birthday when she realized Kathryn and Q really did consider her a member of their family. Janeway had been particularly happy to have news of Voyager passed on and Q knew why, she had been sitting on information she felt was fairly important to her family, especially her mother for months. "You look a little nervous Captain." Q smiled and sat down in her chair behind her desk. "Something bothering you?"

"If we can establish a stable transmission through this network we might be able to stay in constant contact with Earth." She folded her hands together and put them under her chin getting that butterflies in her stomach sort of sensation. "This crew will be able to talk to their families again."

"Including you." Q put his feet up on her desk and propped his hands behind his head while he leaned back. He was a little too comfortable in that seat right now, Kathy was tempted to knock his feet off the desk but her mood was greatly improved upon with the hope of speaking to her sister and mother again. Instead she sat down on the desk next to him and rested a hand on his leg, not to give him any idea's.

"I told the doctor when he gets to Starfleet to give them the basics, we might not have enough time for more than that. Details on our status, our current location, the crew members we have lost since coming to the Delta Quadrant, the crew members we have acquired." She paused, specifically about Naomi Wildman so her father could know his wife was not only alive and well but he had a daughter out here in the Delta Quadrant. That poor man had spent the past 4 years thinking his wife was dead, the news that he had a child and a very healthy brilliant one at that should be enough to improve his day. And of course along with that Emily and Amelia would also be mentioned. Janeway wasn't even going to be the one to tell her mother she was a grandmother now but she still felt nervous about it. "And about the children who have been born on Voyager since our departure."

"Oh, I bet that will be fun." Q put his hands in his lap and raised his head. "We have lost a many good crew members on Voyager but don't worry we are procreating like bunnies to replace them." Q laughed. "Actually I really think of it more as a very slow promotion. Little Amelia is destine to be a captain some day and I think Naomi isn't that far behind either. Sort of making a future little fleet here 'Admiral' Janeway." He patted his lap hoping she would take the hint and have a seat. Not that he was being pervy right now, the rest of the bridge was already right outside the door talking about what they would send in their next letters to their families, talking about who they had left back on Earth and wondering how long it would be for them to get responses. She got up from her desk and walked around back pausing as she stood next to him. In fact it had crossed her mind to just tell him to get up and out of her chair but instead she rested an arm over the back of her chair and placed her other hand on her hip.

"That's not exactly what I was thinking about." Q grabbed her wrist and pulled her down catching her in his arms when she fell across his lap and leaned her back before kissing her. "Q." She scolded him verbally just a little as he broke away from their kiss and sat her back up.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself, you look so pretty when you get serious." He held her a little closer resting his hand against the small of her back. "So I guess your mother is going to find out she's a grandmother finally." He smiled at her as the captain put her arms around his neck. "Does that bother you?"

"No, not at all." Kathryn let out a sigh, she couldn't hide anything from him. Squeezing her a little tighter he rubbed her back knowing it was upsetting she didn't get to pass the message on herself. When Amelia had been born she had told him she felt sorry her mother might never get to know about Amelia, now by tomorrow she would. "A little." Looking back at Q she looked like she was a little queasy. He hadn't seen her give him a look like that since, well almost every day during her first trimester honestly. Back when cuddling her in bed, rubbing her back, and holding her hair had become a daily routine and convincing her it was going to get better had become a chore.

"You look a little flushed Kathryn, are you sick?" He got a little concerned placing a hand against her forehead.

"No."

Q gasped, he would have jumped out of the chair if she hadn't been sitting on his lap. "I swear Kathryn if the next words to leave your mouth end up being 'I'm pregnant'..." He paused puffing up his chest looking like he was going to have a panic attack now. What frightened him more than anything wouldn't be the fact that she was going to have a baby but the fact it wouldn't be his. As a human he hadn't slept with her at all after Amelia was born and as a Q there was no such thing as an accident, aside from Emily but she didn't count. He had absolutely nothing to do with that. Q's had to go out of their way to make other Q's, it would have been something he was aware of. That could only mean one other thing, someone had tried to 'comfort' her after he had died...CHUCKLES. Where was he? Q was going to bitch slap the command right out of him.

"Oh god no." Janeway protested making him relax again. "If I was you would be talking me down from jumping off the second floor of cargo bay two."

"Good, I mean not good that you are going to throw yourself off the second floor of the cargo bay but..." He took in a deep breath and patted his own chest as if trying to keep from having that near fatal heart attack. "Jean Luc thanks you." He smirked, Jean Luc still wasn't aware Q had two hellspawn the captain would have to contend with, of course Jean Luc wasn't Emily's godfather, the Doctor was Emily's Godfather so Jean Luc didn't need to know about her just yet. "So why do you look so nervous?"

"Because, I guess even though I'm not the one who is going to be telling her to 'good' news I am still, worried."

"Worried about what?"

"About the girls never...meeting her." Janeway rested her head against his shoulder, her fingers running back and forth along his chest. "It might have been easier for her to just never have known they exist. I mean..." She furrowed her brow, it wasn't easy for her to be vulnerable around anyone and talk about her fears and concerns. "She really wanted to have grandchildren and we both knew my sister was never going to be the sort of girl to give her any but it never mattered. I always knew one day I would, I always wanted at least one child." She smiled a little, she just hadn't expected to have had one with Q. "I think as soon as Mark and I were engaged that had been her dream and then I got trapped out here in the delta quadrant."

"And you met me and I talked you into helping me save the continuum by having a baby with me and what do you know seven months later there was a little squirming bundle of joy called Amelia. So you gave your mother a grandchild, getting that news should make her feel happy. Her dream came true."

"Maybe." She didn't sound so hopeful and positive. "But she may never get the chance to meet either of them. Isn't it worse to know you have two granddaughters you will never meet than to never know you had them and never have to live with the knowledge that you were missing out on something?"

"Wouldn't it be easier to not have had a daughter at all than to miss the one lost in the delta quadrant and having that hope she will come home again?" Q responded. Humans were so full of hope, they were a hopeful species always thinking the best even in the darkest of situations. "Isn't it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? True, she may never meet her granddaughters, but at least she would have died knowing that she had them. That even if she never got to hold them or see them grow up that they gave her hope and they gave her joy because it meant her daughter Kathryn Janeway wasn't so alone in the Delta Quadrant anymore." He hugged his captain resting his chin on the top of her head. "And just think, if you can establish a permanent link with Earth through this network she will be showing all her friends holopics of the three prettiest girls in the Delta Quadrant. You'll feel much better about all this when we can get a response from Starfleet." He knew she missed her family and friends back on Earth, everyone on this crew did. There wasn't a day Ensign Kim didn't talk about his mother this or his mother that. Torres and Tom seemed like the only two who didn't care as much.

"Thank you Q."

"You say that now but wait until your next checkup when you find out your pregnant." She sat up quickly glaring at him suddenly realizing that painful shock he had experience a moment ago. "I'm kidding." He was quick to defend himself. "If that were true, you would have to stop me from jumping off the second level of cargo bay two." He joked. "I guess we can hold hands on the fall down, though because it's not a very big drop I can safely say we would both survive." It wasn't much higher than the two levels in engineering. It was nice to know they were on the same page though, sort of. Honestly if they had another little Qway together he wouldn't be horribly disappointed, Jean Luc and the continuum would be upset but Q could deal with it.

 _1500, Mess Hall_

When the doctor had returned to Voyager after his trip to Prometheus just about everyone had gathered around to ask him about what Starfleet had to say. The whole crew was alive with both hopes of contacting home again and even better getting a response from their friends and family. Kim especially who was happy to know his parents would get news at last that he was alive and well. There would be some families who's fears were verified with official news that their loved ones had died aboard Voyager and there would be other families who would get news of their loved ones still being alive and well, some even fewer like Mr. Wildman who would get news that not only was his wife alive and well but he had become a father. In the excitement Janeway hadn't even noticed Q had vanished, she had been too busy trying to keep the crew under control and not let them allow this current good fortune to distract them from the task at hand, getting home. Once everyone exited the mess hall and moved back to their posts Kathryn finally turned to Chakotay. "Where is Q?"

"I don't know Captain, he was here with Amelia a moment ago." Emily was still with Naomi talking to the girl about what she would do if she got a letter from her father. It was only a matter of time now and it would be her first contact with her real father. Emily knew from experience the joy that came with facing a chance to contact your real parents. After all when she had come to Voyager Emily had thought of nothing but meeting Amelia. Warming up to Q and Janeway had taken more time and she was still adapting to them. "Must be on Voyager."

Janeway shook her head, a little smile creeping across her face. "Something tells me, he's not."

 _Bloomington Indianan Earth_

Mrs. Janeway had gotten the news around noon from the Federation. After four years of silence, the fear her daughter was gone she finally heard those words that made her cry tears of joy. Kathryn was alive and that had not been the only news. Her first instinct had been to contact Phoebe in LA and tell her younger daughter but the older woman decided instead to sit down in the living room a moment to full absorb everything she had been told. Reaching into the draw of a small table she pulled out a little note and looked it over with a smile, whoever had left her this note had known. Pulling the note to her chest the old woman smiled, her attention pulled away from the note when a flash of light startled her. Standing there was Q, his red and black command uniform looking much like the one Mrs. Janeway's daughter had been wearing before she left that fateful day on Voyager. "Hello Mrs. Janeway." Q spoke up as the older woman turned around. He could see some resemblance to Kathryn in her worn face. She held a surprising flicker of youth still, especially in those blue eyes that reflected so much like her daughters. Her locks had gone grey and most of her age seemed to be caused by the years she had spent worrying, crying over her daughters supposed death.

"Who are you?" She asked in that same bossy tone Kathryn used on hi, Q couldn't help but smile, clearly he had the right woman.

"My name is Q." The woman's eyes widened a little, clearly the doctor had given more than just basic detail. Figured, everyone's family deserved a little detail on their loved ones situations aboard Voyager. "I was just going to ask if you have heard of me, clearly you have." Looking down he stepped out of the shadows a little more showing the little baby in his arms, a pink blanket wrapped around her with the initials A.J. AJ was Tom and Torres nickname for Amy, Tom was convinced that was going to be her academy nickname as well. Who wouldn't die to call little Janeway AJ? "Then you must know who this is?" He smiled at her as the older woman stepped forward.

"Amelia?" Mrs. Janeway smiled, she had been told about a much as they knew on Voyager's current status and Kathryn, the news that had startled her most was about one baby in particular that had been born on Voyager, Amelia. Of course had someone else reported the news to her she might have been suspicious about this 'visitor' Q, luckily an old friend of the family had been the one to contact her, Captain Picard. He had given her a basic run down about Q and warned her something like this might happen since he had a habit of 'dropping by' uninvited. In this case, she had to say he was very much invited into her home.

Q poked at the baby trying to wake her up. "She fell asleep on the way over. She's getting a little too use to this sort of thing now." He smiled as the baby woke back up and let out a big yawn. "Wake up Amy. say hello to your grandmother." She stretched her arms out whimpering a little as her father disturbed her. It wasn't often she was asleep and comfortable, he just had to go and ruin her perfect nap. "Would you like to hold her? It's alright she's may be half Q but she doesn't bite. Actually I take that back, she does just a little. She getting her first few teeth." He laughed.

Mrs. Janeway crossed the living room quickly and reaching out for the little girl. With Amelia in her arms she smiled at the baby as her bright green eyes looked up at the older woman. "She looks like her mother did when she was just a baby." Mrs. Janeway commented trying to rock the baby back to sleep. "How old is she?"

"Six months old since last week. She seems younger because she's a little small, Amelia was born two months early unfortunately but that hasn't stopped her so far. She's as stubborn as her mother." Mrs. Janeway smiled, if anyone could understand Katrhyn's stubbornness. "She can sit up all on her own, crawls around, even pull herself up and stand with the aid of furniture. If you hang onto her hands she will even try to walk." Q watched as Mrs. Janeway sat down on the couch, Amelia seeming to wake up a little more.

"She's beautiful."

"Well." Q paused rocking back on his heels and placing his hands behind his back. "She's got a very beautiful mother." He stood up straight again. "Sorry I couldn't let you meet her before, I'm not allowed to interfere with the natural order of things among you mortals." He paused again. "At least not too much, since you know Voyager and Kathryn are well and fine I figured...well Kathy...she was having a hard time knowing you were going to find out about being a grandmother and not getting to see Amelia. I figured what's a few stops to grandma's house every now and again?"

"You were the one who left the rose and the note." Quick woman, Q saw where Janeway got her smarts from.

"Yes, I did."

"How is my daughter?" Mrs. Janeway asked taking Amelia's hand as the little girl reached up at her and tried sitting up in her arms. Amelia was a squirmy little thing but Mrs. Janeway seemed to be a pro with babies already. She had raised two of her own after all.

"Kathy? Oh she's doing good, you raised one hell of a daughter you know. She's an impressive Captain and an impressive woman, and a really good mother. She misses you, who can blame her, Amelia misses her mother if she's away for more than a few hours. Four years is a long time to be away from home but she's the wind under Voyagers sails."

"I miss her too." Mrs. Janeway seemed a little sad but looking back at her granddaughter she found it hard to keep a frown on her face for long. Amelia had propped herself up and placed a hand on her grandmothers shoulder looking around the living room. Looking back to her grandmother Amelia started ranting off in her typical nonsensical baby babble. "My, you are talkative." Amelia smiled at her grandmother making the older woman cry a little and pull the baby closer to her chest giving Amelia a hug. "She has her mothers smile too."

"And a Janeway temper to boot."

"Thank you." Mrs. Janeway sniffled before Amelia started blabbering on again and made the woman laugh once more.

"Well, a quick visit to Grandma's isn't too far out of the way for me." He waved his hand like it was no big deal. Honestly it wasn't a big deal for him. Amelia could come hand out with Granny all she liked. "Hey, I might even have you babysit now." That would be perfect, he could finally take Janeway on that picnic on the holodeck now.

"I mean, for looking out for my Kathryn, for keeping her company, for Amelia."

"I would say your welcome but then I would have to thank you. Thank you for Kathryn." It was hard to imagine Q of all people use to be selfish and self centered. Kathy had taught him a little about nobility and looking out for others, most importantly she had taught him about love.


	57. Twisted

She couldn't believe this, she had believed Q when he said having his powers back wouldn't cause any problems on Voyager and now this was the third time this week she had to go and reprimand him for 'misbehaving'. She understood Q wasn't an official member of her crew anymore, pulling rank wouldn't work but maybe if she pulled the fiancee card he would at least listen. Walking into cargo bay two with Seven following behind her Kathryn put her hands up on her hips and growled at him, "Q put Seven back to normal."

He turned on his heels with a little smile on his face. "Normal? Huh, if you called that 'normal'. You should be saying thank you Seven." The Borg remained partially hidden behind the captain, her hand covering the side of her face where her borg implant had been. "I understand you might consider this to be better but have you ever stopped to consider what Seven might want?"

"She wanted to stay a borg for the rest of her life? That seems silly." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Under appreciated, once again. Figures, any time I do something nice I get yelled at for it."

"Nice? You mutilated me." Seven stepped out and lowering her hand to show she had no borg implants left. Seven couldn't help but burst uncontrollably out into laughter, clearly distressed that she couldn't stop.

"I made you human again, you are welcome." He paused giving a sheepish smile. "And improved your personality." Janeway was glaring holes through him, if he didn't 'surrender' soon he was going to be in the dog house again. "Come on Captain admit it, she's better that way."

Seven covered her mouth as she continued to let out bouts of girlish giggles. Getting herself under control for a moment she took in a deep breath. "It isn't right, I have a right to my own individuality even if you do not agree with it." She broke into laughter again shaking her head to regain control. "It's embarrassing."

"Q." Kathryn yelled at him again as he rolled his eyes.

"Fine." Snapping his fingers Seven giggle fits had ended, her borg nodes back in place. "Happy now?" Q sneered waving his hand off to the side to mimic a Gennie who had just served it's master well.

Kathryn turned to Seven nodding her head. "If you don't mind I would like to talk to Q for a moment, you can return to astrometrics."

Pulling her arms behind her back she nodded her head. "Very well. Emily asked that i show her the pulsars from our last spacial grid location." She turned back to glare at Q. "Good luck Captain."

Q stuck his nose up in the air as Seven walked off with that same dull personality no one liked. It was no wonder crew members didn't like her, she had all the spark of a Neelix's fish stew. "Q." He jumped hearing her yell once more.

"I fixed her what more do you want?"

Kathryn walked forward, her hands still firmly fixed on her hips. "How dare you, after you assured me you would behave yourself, you promised me you wouldn't cause any trouble on this ship."

"I was only trying to..." He was cut off when Janeway raised a hand to let him know she didn't want to hear it.

"You promised me Q and you broke that promise. This isn't the first time you have done this either. First you turn my first officer into a dog." Q tried to hide his little smirk but it was almost impossible. "Then you turn engineering into a three ring circus."

Q interrupted her now wanting to clarify one thing. "You asked for repairs in an hour, something that would take three so i speed them up."

Janeway made it clear she didn't want to hear his excuses. The whole crew in engineering spent three hours in sickbay after his little time lapsed speed up trick. "And now this. Q, you have deliberately disobeyed me and put my crew at risk. I can't have that aboard my ship."

He stepped closer to her grabbing her shoulders and shaking her lightly. "I was trying to help you."

"Then stop trying to help me." She stepped a little closer to him looking rather intimidating for someone shorter than him and mortal. "Don't make me have to throw you off my ship Q. You know I don't want to but I can set aside my own feelings for the good of my crew."

"And you can't actually throw me off the ship." Had he just kept his mouth shut he could have avoided the rest of this fight but Q despite all his intelligence wasn't known for being quiet and admitting defeat. He didn't know what was worse, that look of utter shock and rage or that shimmer of hurt in her eyes. He noticed a little too late the damage he had caused her whens he turned away partially walking away from him before turning around.

"Get off my ship." Q ran after her grabbing her arm and swinging her back around. She wasn't too pleased with his attempt to talk to her again but Q knew she could be hasty about the choices she made. It wasn't like this was the first time she tried throwing him off the ship. She even locked him in the brig before.

"I don't think so."

"You bastard." She raised her hand to slap him but Q was quick to catch it, thank god too. Kathy had never tried to slap him before, she was very good at restraining herself and as much as he deserved it he wasn't about to let her strike him. No sooner had he caught her wrist a flash of light went over them both making them take pause.

"Mom, dad, please stop fighting." A familiar voice called out. Both of them turned their attention to the Q sitting on the crates in the cargo bay. None other than Q's best friend. "I hate it when you two fight, it hurts me it really does. And I was really hoping we had learned out lessons, apparently I was wrong. Good thing I came in time because this marriage of yours is starting off really sad."

"We are hardly married, not until Q can improve himself enough so I can trust him." Janeway said without skipping a beat. Of course it wasn't until after the words had left her mouth that that she noticed something was wrong. Her voice wasn't suppose to sound like that. "What the hell happened to my voice." She stepped back only realizing then as she went to look at Q but saw herself. "What?" Her voice was a little breathy now, that look of utter shock crossing both her face and Q's.

Q looked up at Janeway, a new experience for him or more so he looked up at himself. Glancing down he let out a girly scream which wasn't so out of the question. His hands falling to the first place they would have, right on top of Janeway's breasts...his breasts? "I have bosoms." He gasped sounding a little disturbed. Running his hands down his side he finally grabbed his ass with a cocky little smile. "And a nice little firm derriere."

Janeway stood there with her mouth open a little disturbed herself as she watched Q ran his...or her...hands over her body. As if she didn't have to deal with that enough when they were in the correct body. "Stop that." Janeway looked back to the other Q clearly pissed but not quite as threatening as she usually was. "Change us back, right now."

"I'm sorry but I can't do that, as your official marriage counselor I have to let this experiment run out till it's end."

"Experiment, is that what this is to you?" She growled and turned back to look at her Q, herself, this was weird. "Q turn us back." She ordered. Despite being mildly distracted with copping a feel of himself he turned back to her and snapped his fingers. Nothing. Much like Q had done in the past he snapped them a few more times juts in case but nothing. The Q on the crates started up again laughing as he leaned over on himself and sucked in quick breaths to point out how funny this was to him. "What did you do."

"Nothing, but Q is you, you don't have powers Captain Janeway."

"Then turn us back, no." She hissed.

"I already told you I can't, you have to let this go to the end."

"How long will that take?" Q chimed in sounding concerned himself now that he realized he was mortal again.

"Well, that depends on you." The other Q sassed before turning his attention to Q. Snapping his fingers he reappeared by Q's side and took his hand or more so Janeways hand? Kissing the top of it the Q gave a devilish grin not much different than that which Q himself always gave Janeway. "I never thought I would say this to you Q but, would you like to maybe get lunch or dinner with me some time? I never thought you could end up with such a shapely form, I know we are old friends and all but..."

Q pulled his hand free from the other Q and looked him over with a look of disgust. "Absolutely not, what do you take me for some cheap tart?" It was weird seeing him in her body, she was just happy he was doing a good job keeping it 'safe' from this Q.

"Oh a feisty girl playing hard to get, I li..."

Janeway snapped her fingers, Q's fingers, whoever, whatever, it didn't matter. What did was when she snapped her fingers the other Q had vanished leaving Q to jump up rather excited. "You can use my powers. Quick turn us back."

Janeway felt a rush of excitement as she turned back to him, "Alright." She paused. "I don't know how." If she could it would have been the first thing she would do. As much as Q might have had fun feeling up his 'new' body she wasn't enjoying being in his. It was rather uncomfortable and not because he had a male body but because she felt like her head was filled with a million things, more than it normally was. Not only that but the 'vastness' of his being was starting to feel like a horrible high. At least he could cope better, he had been mortal before, she had never been a Q once in her life and she wasn't like this feeling.

"That can be a problem." He commented walking back up to her. "And I can't believe you were going to slap me."

"You asked for it." She put her hands on her hips, or his hips.

"Captain we need you on the bridge." Chakotay's voice came from over the com.

"Great, now what?" Janeway spoke up.

"You heard them, you are need on the bridge." Q responded.

"Like hell I am going on the bridge in your body." She slid her hands off her hips and let them hang beside her, nodding her head at him. "You'll have to go on the bridge."

"Me?" Q nearly tapped his com badge.

"You are the captain remember, besides you always say my job is so easy, if it's so easy then you shouldn't have a problem." She got a cocky smile on her face making Q feel a little uncomfortable. Here he was thinking that cocky smile of his was a one way ticket to winning girls over but seeing it from her point of view now he knew it made him sort of want to slap himself.

"Fine." He crossed his arms over his chest jumping a little when he had to move them just under his bust. Having breasts was a little less exciting than he thought it would be. "But you are coming with me...Q." He leaned forward a little, it was strange having to look up at himself. He didn't like being 'short'. Not that Kathy was short for a woman, she was juts a little too short for him. After all, Kathy liked her men to be taller.

"If it stops you from putting your hands on my 'little firm derriere'."

Q smiled and shrugged. "Well, Kathy I can't help it. You know there are two things that make me feel like a prepubescent boy, your smile and your 'little firm derriere'." She rolled her eyes at him. "By the way, when you got rid of Q, did you do it because you didn't want him touching this lovely body of yours or was it because you got a little jealous?"

For a moment she betrayed herself with a little flicker in her now much darker eyes. Damn, he missed looking at her pretty soft blue eyes. He guessed he could look in a mirror for that but it wouldn't be the same. This better not last for too long. "That doesn't concern you right now 'captain' your crew is waiting for you."

Q walked onto the bridge feeling strangely out of place for the first time, normally he sauntered out onto the bridge knowing Kathryn was the one who wore the big pants around here. Today he felt out of place, maybe it was the fact he was in Kathryn's body rather than his own. At least he was taking some advantage to his situation. Maybe he wasn't Starfleet appropriate but he was certainly not afraid to flaunt what Kathryn's mama had given him. His slate blue undershirt had been removed and his jacket left undone enough to show off more cleavage. Why the captain didn't use her looks to her advantage was beyond him. Q certainly had never held back at using his charms. How else would he have won over the lovely Kathryn Janeway? Walking to the captains seat he looked over at Chakotay catching the man glancing over to him and then pausing, nearly choking on his next breath.

"Ah Captain, are you feeling alright?"

"Never better." Q spoke up sitting down in the captains seat. "Why do you ask?"

"You just ah...you look a little different." Suddenly Q realized he was actually really happy Kathryn didn't use her looks to her advantage. He would have to slap that look off Chakotay's face later, right now he had captaining to do.

"Report?" Q spoke up pausing a moment. He was still feeling out of place. "I mean, what did you need me for?" A flash of light turned everyone's attention to Q or better known as Janeway now who had a look of accomplishment on his/her face.

"Oh look at that." She said glancing around the bridge. "I finally got it right." She was looking rather proud of herself, getting the hang of Q abilities wasn't an easy feat but she was managing it from the looks of it.

Q looked back to Chakotay just wanting to know what was needed of him so he could get it done and they could go back to trying to get into the right bodies again. "Please Chakotay, continue."

"Captain we found a J class planet that seems to have an M class planet at it's core, I thought you might like to take a closer look at it. See what causes the phenomenon."

Q sat in the big chair trying to think of what Kathryn would do. "Sure, yeah lets do that, lets take a look at it. Send some away teams and stuff."

"Captain? Are you sure you feel alright?"

Q nodded his head. "I feel fine."

"Alright, once you decide who to put on the away teams I'll let them know."

"Oh yeah." Q forgot normally Kathryn put together the away teams. Looked like he was going to have some homework tonight. "I'll get them to you tomorrow morning, is that enough time to brief the away teams?"

"That should be fine." Suddenly Q didn't hate Chakotay so much, he was rather comforted by the man, he had a very pleasant voice and tone. Made Q feel like he was more than component to play captain. He even caught himself smiling at Chakotay a little only to look over and see Janeway giving him the look.

"Captain Janeway." A voice cam over the com system again making Q jump a little.

"Yes." Q responded tapping his com badge. "This is Captain Janeway." Kathryn would never respond with that but he was trying to make a point.

"Ensign Wildman, I think Amelia needs you." Q jumped out of the captains seat faster than humanly possible and realized he had pulled a muscle in his leg, leg cramp.

"I'll be right there." Q responded tapping his badge again and limping towards the door.

"Captain are you alright?" Chakotay asked again as Q moved a little like a cripple.

"Just a...what do you call them? A charlie Horse? Q will help me, won't you Q." He glanced back at Janeway who had just been sitting by quietly observing.

"Of course I will, when I'm not being a total jerk I'm normally trying to help out the love of my life right?"

Q grimaced, really? She was making him look bad, IN FRONT of Chakotay. Kathryn walked up to Q easily picking him up off the ground and making Q flail his arms a little angrily. "Hey." he yelled as she carried him over to the turbo lift. "A little excessive much?" Now he could understand how much he hated it when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder to take her to sickbay for a check up of physical. Wasn't so fun being manhandled even if it was for the best of intentions. When the doors of the tubro lift had shut behind then Kathy finally sat him down watching as Q fixed his shirt and grumbled.

"Not so nice when you are the one being carried around."

He pointed at her finding it hard to yell at 'himself'. Why was he yelling at all, why was he even upset? Oh that's right, she had promised to help him and had she? No, she had let him down. "I thought you said you were going to assist me up there."

"I did." She paused looking back at him and frowning. Snapping her fingers the slate blue undershirt appeared beneath Q's uniform to cover her body up a little more. "Better, anyways I said I would but to be honest you didn't need any help. In fact I was a little proud of you even." Q smiled feeling rather excited to have her actually say she was proud of him. "Of course next time you walk onto the bridge you might want to follow Starfleet regulations better when it comes to your uniform."

Q ran his hands over her chest again making her feel uncomfortable. Could he stop groping her body for a minute? "And you should really take more pride in your looks Kathy, you could easily compete with Seven if you dressed up for it."

Janeway crossed her arms behind her back and nodded her head, she still wasn't use to being this taller figure. "My intentions are not to compete with anyone. My intentions are to run my ship." She hadn't ever been the sort of woman who went out of her way to appear attractive for men, if her personality wasn't what attracted them to her then they weren't worth it. Luckily it had been her personality that caught Q's attention first. "Besides, I thought I dressed up nice for our 'date'."

Q nodded his head with a little smile on his face, her face? It didn't look right having one of Q's cocky grins on Janeway's face, it looked a little spooky actually. "Oh yeah, you looked...yup." At least she had kept her word to set aside a day every week for their 'date' night. That was more than he could say for himself, he hadn't kept his word entirely to her. Crossing his arms over his chest again he looked down at his feet and grimaced a little. "So what do you think is wrong with Amelia?"

"It's close to twelve hundred hours correct?"

"I think so." Q added nodding 'her' head.

"Nothing, she's just hungry." 'He' spoke matter of factly.

Q took it as is and nodded his head as well. "Oh, alright." Finally he paused wondering what fresh hell was upon him at last, his attention turning back to the tall, dark, and handsome figure of himself. "Seriously?" His voice became a little more strained. "Quick change us back, just try, worse comes to worse we both end up half way across the galaxy again and you get us home." He was starting to sound more and more distressed as the turbo lift was heading for it's destination. Q was tempted to yell for it to stop but couldn't muster up the words. "But...isn't she eating food now? I mean she got her first tooth."

"Oh believe me, I know." She reminded him. "And she's only starting to eat pureed food but she still gets breastfed about six or seven times a day."

"What? Seriously?" He looked rather shocked by that. "I feed her pureed food about three times a day though."

"Yes Q, she's not a cat, have you noticed yet that human babies grow at an alarming rate? She's more than doubled in size and weight since she was born." That was easy to say since Amelia had been small enough to almost fit in the palm of his hand since the day she was born and now she could actually be considered 'heavy'. Holding her for long periods of time made your arms tired, luckily not for him anymore. Aside from the fact he was no in Kathy's body and not the way he wanted to be.

"I could just give her a bottle though right?" Q asked touching his chest again.

"Wouldn't that be easy?" Q nodded his head in agreement. "But when has Amelia ever been easy?" He also had to agree with that. "I'm afraid to leave you alone tonight...if you could just stop groping me." For a second she had thought being in the others bodies that Q would stop touching her, it only made him worse. "Besides if you don't you'll be paying for it later, believe me if I was the one lactating I would be more than happy to feed her for you but." Finally for the first time did she have the upper hand on him? "Good luck Q." The look on his face was good enough for her right now, even if she was trapped in his body and slightly miserable herself. He finally got a good look at her life.

"Thanks Kathy, you are such a charming sweetheart...and a jerk. I think you have been in my body for a little too long." No really, she was starting to pick up on a little of that Q 'personality'. How the hell had he ever managed to win her over with such a winning personality? Even he was a little annoyed with her or himself, or whoever right now. He liked to think he wasn't that much of an ass to her. Most of what he did was honestly him trying to help her out, this arrangement seemed to be a one way punishment. Leave it to 'Q' to do that to him.


	58. Trading Places

Q walked into their living quarters rubbing his soar neck and almost collapsing onto the bed. He had managed to get Amelia to bed and then finally finish reading Emily a story without falling asleep himself. That wasn't even half of what he had put up with today, it was absurd what one person could deal with and still function. He was almost certain he had only eaten once and even then he hadn't been able to finish his lunch before someone else needed his help. Being Kathryn Janeway wasn't so easy. Falling back on the bed Q shut his eyes for a moment, he could just fall asleep right now and not care that he was laying half off the bed or that he was still wearing his uniform. Just as he thought he finally was getting some peace and quiet he was startled by a flash of light. Q was use to doing to random appearing, having someone else doing it now...bothered him. "Hello Q, what are doing sleeping already? Lazy." He looked up at the talk, dark, and jackass that was now Janeway. he liked her much better in this body, she was more...dare he say compassionate?

"Kathy, don't even get me started."

She nearly flopped down bouncing him off the bed a little. "Ah, what's wrong Captain Q? Being a captain not as easy as you would have liked?"

Q opened his eyes feeling like he was starting to get a headache as well. He hadn't ever had one, even when he was a mortal. Was there something wrong with Kathy that she wasn't telling anyone else or was this really what happened to the human body on little food and sleep? "Easy? I had settle an argument over Seven and Torres. Torres was complaining that Seven had bypassed extra energy to the astrometrics lab so she could expand the sensor readings. Then I had to dodge the doctor who was complaining about not all the crew members reporting in for their updated inoculations, and he was hinting a lot at me, after that Emily alerted me that I had to give her riding lessons on holodeck two and then was interrupted half way by a call from the bridge to contact a passing trade ship. Just when I thought I was going to have time to eat lunch I was interrupted yet again, big surprise. Tom had to ask me if I was going to let him go on the away mission for tomorrow...which reminds me. I still have to figure out who's going on the away mission tomorrow." Q paused catching his breath, that hadn't even begun to explain his day. He still had to deal with Amelia, and Emily, and Naomi who was following him for a good twenty minutes asking him about the duties of the captain and all the while he did his best to stop from snapping at anyone. Just took a deep breath and smiled. "And where were you that whole time? Didn't I tell you to help me?"

Janeway sat back up." I was for your information learning how to control your abilities. Maybe once I do I can switch us back to normal." She smiled as Q laid there looking like he was going to pass out again. She would have found him irresistibly cute if he wasn't in her own body. "You know what would be fun?" Janeway scooted a little closer to him deciding to use another one of his most annoying traits against him. Wrapping an arm around him she put on her best Q impression which wasn't so hard since she had his voice already. "Well NOW that you have a few seconds to yourself you know what we should do?"

"Sleep?" He asked hopeful that would be her answer. It seemed like a logical normal Janeway answer.

"Nope." Janeway kissed him on the lips making him squirm uncomfortably.

He put a hand up and let out a sigh. "Kathy, I love you but not right now, I'm too tired."

"I'm not." Actually with everything she had done all day she wasn't even a little tired, she had enough energy to keep going. "I'm not even a little tired."

"That's because you are a Q, Qs don't get tired, they don't need sleep." Q let his head lull to one side and let out another sigh. "You really got the easier end of this deal, that's not entirely fair."

Janeway perked up a little more, as if she wasn't perked up enough. "You're right, I did, and I'm not certain I want to go back to the way it was."

"WHAT?" Q found himself wide awake again and sitting up looking at her. "You don't mean that, do you?"

"Of course I do, are you kidding me? I can do anything I like, I don't need to sleep, I don't feel pain, snap my fingers and the universe is at my fingertips." She had to be joking, she honestly had to be joking. "Besides I like being a Q, I have never felt so alive." Oh god, she actually enjoyed being a Q now? She had started to develop an ego and arrogance that was driving him a little mad.

"Hey, all mighty and powerful just remember one thing, that's my body."

Kathy stood up and raised her brow giving him a cocky smile, HIS cocky smile. He should slap that cocky smile right off her face. "Not anymore it isn't."

Standing up Q pointed at her. "Don't make me..."

"What are you going to do? Yell at me?" Q suddenly realized what it was like to be a mere mortal trying to scold a Q of all things.

"Dammit Kathryn I was never this cruel to you." Q finally snapped and broke down a little, the proverbial wind in his sails dying down as he sat back on the bed and grabbed his head. He wasn't getting a headache, he had a full blown migraine by now. The last thing he wanted to do after today was deal with...an arrogant obnoxious Q. "Get out." He finally muttered a little under his breath. Janeway tried to calm him down, reaching a hand out to him only to be barked at again. "I said get out, now."

She took a few steps away from the bed putting a hand on her hip and snapping her fingers. In a flash of light Janeway was gone. As far as Q cared she could stay gone for the next month and he wouldn't be too concerned. How could someone be so ignorant to others feelings? Oh, maybe he shouldn't throw stones when he lived in a glass house himself.

Janeway walked down the hall with Rowley, the dog always seemed to prefer Q over her but it seemed since she was Q at the moment that the dog enjoyed her company a little more now. She felt bad not getting more of a chance to play with the dog but two kids and a ship to run she hadn't the time to spend one on one time with the dog. In fact Naomi Wildman mostly took command of Rowley now, or Emily. "I, I don't even know what to say Rowley. It's like I open my mouth and what comes out is just...infinite knowledge does not equate to infinite wisdom." Sitting down in hydroponics She considered maybe picking a few of the flowers in here. Since Kes had left Neelix still looked after the flowers, they had been good friends and once even a little more. Maybe she had to accept that she and Q would only ever be good friends. Just thinking about that made her feel like lightning had struck her right in the heart. It was almost a real physical pain, the closest she had come to since being trapped in Q's body. It seemed everything a Q experienced was almost to an alarming extreme, love, hate, it was a constant struggle trying to calm yourself down so you could better 'fit' in around other humanoids. It certainly explained her sudden jealousy and possessive nature over Q suddenly. Ordinarily she couldn't have cared about what he said and did but suddenly seeing the other Q and Chakotay looking at him, even in her body...it had gotten under her skin. It wasn't as much fun as she had said to be a Q. Boredom was almost an illness to her, she couldn't sit still and do nothing. When you already knew everything and experiences were almost a drug what could you do but sit and become bitter or...have fun. That was an idea.

Standing up Janeway considered what she might do, Q said he still had to finish putting together the list for the away mission. It wasn't as if she needed sleep, she could easily finish it for him. Snapping her fingers she made a PADD appear in her other hand and nodded her head with a little smirk. "I'll tell you this much Rowley. I could get use to these abilities."

The next morning after the briefing Q had sent off his little missions list and taken in all the departments complaints, especially noting Sevens complaints about efficiency aboard Voyager. Even if this was the first morning meeting he had sat down to he felt like he had heard the same speech over and over. Even after everyone had left Chakotay stayed behind still showing some obvious concern over her...him. To be honest it was all getting a little hazy to Q himself. "Captain, you seemed, quiet this morning."

Q sat back in his seat letting out a sigh. "Ka...Q and I had an argument last night." He was quick to catch himself, last thing he needed was for the rest of the crew to know their captain and favorite Q had been switched. "I know, I get it that he is excited to be, all powerful and everything but do you think he could consider for a second what I have to put up with every day? You would think if he really loved me as much as he said he did then he wouldn't try to add to my frustrations. It's bad enough I can't even keep Torres and Seven in a room for more than five minutes without an argument breaking out between them."

Chakotay smiled at 'her' seeming like he may have heard this speech before himself. "Well you know Q Captain, he reminds me of those younger boys who did nothing but cause trouble to get a girls attention. I think he means well but he just doesn't know what you expect from him. He may be a Q but he's still a guy, sometimes all we need is a little guidance. Other than that I know he really does care about you Captain, why else would he go out of his way?"

Q leaned over the table a little propping his chin on one of his hands. He hadn't ever expected Chakotay to stand up for him. All this time he figured the commander was secretly plotting behind his back but he had learned Chakotay was actually a pretty good guy. Kathy deserved a guy more like him. Q sat back up puffing up his chest a little. It wasn't too late to be that guy. "What do you think she...I should tell him? I mean to help 'guide' him into doing the right thing?" He just might take this to his advantage right now.

"Tell him what you always tell me. Sometimes the little things go further than just, how did you put it? Snapping your fingers to solve a problem?" Chakotay smiled. "And while you figure that out, let me handle Torres and Seven for you."

"Thank you Chakotay, I appreciate it." Q let out a sigh, Kathy had told him that same thing over and over herself, seemed Q ignored her more than he liked to think. He was that ass Kathy had been portraying, way to make him feel bad. Unfortunately it wasn't entirely his fault. What else was he suppose to do on Voyager? He was a whale in a bathtub, metaphorically speaking. He couldn't just do and leave Voyager whenever he liked, there were two little Q's here who needed him, and Kathy. Every time he got the urge to 'play' around he couldn't just flit off to some other unsuspecting group of victims. His litter box had also become his toy box, wasn't that the saying? Standing up Q jumped a little seeing the bright flash behind him and turning on his heels to look at Kathy. "Where have you been all morning?" Q growled a little annoyed. "They found Rowley locked in hydroponics, I had to get Emily ready for school on my own and Amelia, don't even get me started on how she can be in the mornings."

Janeway put her her hands in defense before she was completely torn apart. "I have been to the continuum."

"What? Why." Q sounded more concerned.

"Nothing bad, just looking for Q...other Q, so he can turn us back. I don't want to be a Q anymore." Janeway paused looking at Q again and letting a little smirk cross her face. "By the way has anyone told you how hot you are today?" Janeway touched Q on the shoulder and acted like she had gotten burned. "Ouch."

Q rolled his eyes and glared at her. "Really? Yesterday you seemed pretty content to stay in that body."

She suddenly remembered why she was here. "I did, for a while, until this, all this started to happen. How can you stand it. This, everything. It doesn't stop, I can't even finish a thought without a million other thoughts coming to my mind." Janeway paused looking around the briefing room. "Have the walls always been this atrocious color? Bland." Janeway snapped her fingers changing the shade to a royal red, the walls decorated with fine drapery and a few historical paintings. "Better."

Q looked around the room, even though it did look nicer it wasn't what was that? Starfleet regulation. "Kathy...please change the walls back."

"Sorry, I, I can't help it." She snapped her fingers again. "That is what I am talking about. I just can't...stop."

"Frustrating isn't it. I didn't know any better until the first time I became mortal on Captain Picard's ship Enterprise. Luckily for those of us who have always been Q we can get better control of ourselves. We all have a few mental anchors in the storm that is the Q mind." Most Qs didn't even bother doing that, they preferred to live adrift in the commotion but Q liked a little order, at least more so than those 'naturalists' but less so than the council who would force perfect order and conformity on the masses.

"Not only that but...could I be any more useless?"

"Useless? What do you mean?"

"If I use my powers you yell at me, what am I suppose to do? I'm so...bored, unchallenged." Janeway complained pacing a little bit and looking like how he use to feel. Bored, unchallenged, caged. It was unpleasant for a Q.

"Well, take it from a master, if you want to calm down your mind you need to make yourself a port in the storm." He tapped his fingers on the table before standing up and walking over to Janeway who looked as though she was going to jump out of her skin or better yet his skin. "And I know you lack a 'filter' so to say and I know you feel useless...believe my Kathy. I feel useless every day. I feel like no matter what I do I'll never make you happy, me, an omnipotent being. "But, you know what, maybe snapping your fingers ins't what you need to do to make you feel challenged. Isn't that too easy? Maybe the real challenge is in doing everything the hard way, the mortal way. Who knows, it might even set a good example for the girls." Q was starting to sound just like Kathy. This had become more than just switching bodies, it was like they had swapped personalities as well.

Janeway listened and took it all into consideration before letting out a sigh. "That sounds..." Q expected her to say something like 'profound' or ' insightful'. Instead he got something he almost expect...knowing himself anyways. "Dull." Janeway raised a brow thinking it over even more. "But...possible. Not every day someone like me tries to live the simple common life of a limited bipedal species like you...no offence." She waved a hand at him almost trying to work through some sort of miniature emergency. "I just, everything all at once? All the time? How do you stand this?"

"As I said, you need to make yourself a port in the storm, organize your thoughts around it." Q smiled to himself. "Mine was always Amelia, Emily, You." His smile grew, he hadn't noticed Kathy staring at him intently. "My family, I'm the only Q alive who has one. Maybe that is your next greatest experience, adventure, challenge. Being a family man." Even Q caught himself by surprise and started faking a cough. "Oh that was weird."

"I can see why I like you so much, when I'm myself anyways. Right now I just have to get something off my chest." He figured she was going to say something like call him corny or sappy. Instead he got, "I want to kind of bend you over the briefing table." It almost was physically painful for her to say that but Q couldn't hold it in himself. He doubled over laughing. Never ever would he think Kathy would say something like that to him, even with his personality.

"I'm...I'm flattered?" Q finally managed to spit it out. "But not right now." He paused again trying to run it through his mind. "Although, would be interesting to see what it's like, you know for scientific purposes to be on the other end of that..."

Another flash of light caught their attention as the other Q showed up, his blue eyes darting between them. "Well this is awkward." He sat down on the table crossing his legs and putting a little smirk on his face. "Look at you two getting along, maybe a little too well. Kathy, really that is how you get into the beds of little primitive beings? You need to work on your material my man or you will never be a successful Q." The Q shrugged. "I'm so proud of you two."

"So you are going to change us back now?" Q asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Oh no, I just came to check up on the two of you. Make sure you haven't killed each other yet. I already told you I can't change you back to the way you were before. Only you can do that for yourselves." He leaned back snapping his fingers and holding an apple in his hand. Taking a bite from it he started talking with his mouth full of apple, muffling his words as he spoke. "Yes, I set it up so you would only change back to normal once you two made up and seen the world through each others eyes."

"We have." Kathy argued.

"No." The Q interrupted pointing at her. "You have an idea, you are at a good start. Besides you two get to this point all the time, a quick fix, you get each other for a minute and then it's back to the way it use to be." He chewed up the apple in his mouth and threw it up in the air before catching it again and taking another bite from it. "Also Q...I think you sprang a leak."

Q looked at him and furrowed his brow before looking over himself and noticing his shirt was a little wet. "Well, this is embarrassing." The other Q started having a mild giggle fit as Janeway looked over at him for once happy she wasn't in her own body. Being a Q had several advantages.

"You forgot to feed Amelia this morning."

"Y...Yeah." Q spoke up a little nervously.

"Welcome to motherhood."

Q shifted his gaze uncomfortably between them and crossed his arms over his chest. That whole switching back to their own bodies thing would have been very helpful by now. "Eh Q, you make a nice girl. I think it works for you better. Actually I prefer you like this." The other Q commented still having that mocking tone to his voice. "Kathy if you ever get back to your own body and you decide to leave that one I'm always available you know." He leaned a little closer to his Q companion's body now. It wasn't unusual for the other Q to flirt with males or to have flirted with Q when he was normal so the thought of flirting with Kathy in Q's body didn't even phase him a little.

"I'll...keep that in mind?" She shrugged feeling a little more awkward than the more open Q, her attention turning back to poor Q as he stood there rather upset by the situation. "I promise I'll put it in my never going to happen box where all the rest of your failed pickup lines have gone."

The Q looked back at Q again. "I like her, have I told you that already?" He took another bite of his apple. "Well it was fun hanging with you two but I have to dash. There is a group of stranded Betazoid beauties who need my help so if you don't mind." He vanished in a flash of light as Q huffed.

"Ha, can you believe that hack use to run around pretending he was a god."

"Really?" Janeway was surprised, she thought it was against the rules for the Q to pretend they were gods.

"Yes, they called him Cupid." Q paused. "Amature. Got us both in trouble for that."

"Did you pretend to be a god as well?" She was a little curious now, after all Q was still full of secrets.

Glancing back at her he shifted his gaze a little. "No...not really...maybe a little..." He paused again. "Forget I mentioned it."


	59. Seeing Eye to Eye

They had camped out around the planet a little longer than they had liked but for whatever reason Q wanted nothing more than to go down the the surface to see for himself. Maybe it was the curiosity that Janeway had, that personality he was now living with. Meanwhile Janeway could have cared less which made Q a little sad. She already knew everything about the planet, all that knowledge stored away in that impressive Q head of his or hers. Q stood at astrometrics looking at the planet longingly, wanting nothing more than to set foot on that surface and see for himself the spiraling gas giant that engulfed it. That swirling red sky that Tom Paris had been talking about with excitement. A small star trapped within the gas giant, rotating around the world and setting the sky on fire in the mornings and turning to a blood soaked atmosphere at night. Q had been so entranced in the beautiful image on the screen he hadn't even noticed Janeway walk into astrometrics behind him. "So, this is where you have been hiding." She stood there a moment in the doorway looking at him with his hands on his hips. The longer they stayed in each others bodies the more they started to become the other. It came to the point Janeway feared she would just have to be Q for the rest of eternity. He certainly had done a good job filling in her place. He walked on the bridge speaking with confidence now, he could take care of her crew, the girls, the dog, even found time once or twice a week to replicate dinner for the two of them, just like she use to. The more Q became who she once was the more she missed being that woman and the more she realized she had become an outsider looking in. Q didn't need her really, she...he was more than self sufficient. It made Janeway realize that Q might have felt the same, it was no wonder he caused trouble for her. He was trying to find a reason for her to need him.

"Isn't it beautiful." Q smiled turning back to her and walking closer to the image.

"It certainly is." Of course Janeway hadn't been talking about the planet but he didn't need to know that. Three days in this body and she was starting to feel it. Even starting to forget what it was like to be Kathryn Janeway a little. it made her wonder if he was feeling the same thing.

"Look at that asteroid field around the gas giant, this planet is easily twice the size of Jupiter you know and it has a star orbiting the planet inside it with three moons. Mr. Paris said at night the sky turns blood red making the moons glow with this eerie halo. I would give anything to go in there myself and see it. They found plant life and even primal animals starting to develop on the planets surface. Cambrian lifeforms, creatures like earths earliest species."

"In other words, bugs." Janeway spoke up. "Doesn't sound like a good honeymoon destination."

"Well, arthropods."

"So...bugs." Janeway added one last time. Stepping forward into the room more Janeway walked over to Q resting a hand on his back and looking down at his rather shapely figure. She couldn't help it, if ever she got back into her own body she was never going to get upset when he looked at her like that. It was almost involuntary. "If you want to go down there, I got shuttle two geared up with help from Tom."

Q spun on his heels looking rather excited. "You did? But we have to be out of here by 15:00 today."

Janeway moved her wrist seeing an old fashioned earth watch appear on her wrist. "And it's 12:00 right now so that gives us three hours if we leave now. I know it's not a picnic or a walk in the park or a candlelight dinner but if you want to look at a chunk of rock floating in gas then that's what my girl gets." Janeway paused furrowing her brow. "Or...boy..."

"That's right." Q responded having a strange sort of epiphany. "I'm you...you are me...I almost forgot really. That's still sweet of you because well, obviously you know I, you use to be a science officer." He even had vivid memories of going to Starfleet Academy, of growing up in Indiana, of his...her father dying, his funeral, of Molli, even of Mark and a few other men..not that he was upset. They were after all just his...her memories. He couldn't hold her past against her just as she couldn't hold his past against him. "You aren't doing this because you did something you shouldn't have did you?"

"No, I just wanted to do something nice, so you know how much I appreciate you for putting up with me."

Q laughed. "I'm still figuring out how you put up with me."

"You're easy on the eyes." Janeway shrugged with a little tilt of the head. "Who knows, you might even be easier on the eyes on a planet with a red sky." She joked raising her elbow so Q could grab hold of it like some old southern gentleman. "M'...sir?"

Q took her arm with a smile. "How, charming of you."

"Well not to bring back bad memories but you are still my southern bell if you let me be your Yankee General."

Q looked back at Janeway furrowing his brow. "Correct me if I am wrong but, I think you were the Southern Bell."

"That's right." This was going to get more problematic over time but then again would it? If they just ended up being the other completely? Was it going to make a difference? When they had gotten to the shuttle Tom had been waiting for them still. He nodded at Janeway still thinking of her as Q. Even after Q had gotten back his powers he remained close to Tom and Harry. The 'Three Amigos' could never be parted and honestly in the past three days Janeway had learned things about Torres she could have lived without knowing. Once Q was aboard the shuttle and in his seat Janeway stepped back out of the shuttle part way and whispered to Tom. "You put the you know what in there?"

Tom nodded his head with a smile. "I got your back buddy."

"Thanks, I owe you one. You can take our holodeck hours on Saturday for that date with B'Elanna. I'll talk to Kathryn about it, i'm sure she will understand after this." Janeway gave him a pat on the back. So long as she was back in her own body by Saturday she wouldn't have to explain anything to Q. Stepping back into the shuttle she closed the door and took her seat as copilot of the shuttle. "Ready?" Janeway stopped quickly holding up a finger to let Q know she had something for him. Snapping her fingers she had a PADD materialize in her hand and passed it off to Q. "I sat down last night while you were sleeping and wrote that up. It was hard trying to think as Kathryn rather than as you but I figured once we have our own bodies back, whenever that might be, you might like to have it."

Q looked over the PADD with a little confusion. "What is it?"

"You asked me to tell you what my honest dream wedding was so I wrote up a guideline, flowers, dress, what I would want the boys to wear, of course trying to look back on it I never remembered having kids already when I got married but I improvised."

Q couldn't help but smirk a bit as he looked it over. "Wait a second, this says vanilla cake with white frosting, you like red velvet cake the most." He read it over some more. "What no coffee ice cream?"

"Hmm?"

"My memory might be a little fuzzy Kathryn but I'm surprised you forgot. You lived on coffee ice cream your second trimester, I think you went through a gallon a day almost. I was going to call together a meeting to talk about your addiction. Red velvet cake and coffee flavored ice cream is what we had at your birthday party because you love them both. We should have red velvet cake and coffee ice cream at the wedding, not vanilla cake and ice cream."

"You like Vanilla though. I figured...well, my dream wedding could include things you like."

Q shrugged his shoulders. "We could have, both." He went back to the controls on his side and put in the coordinates for the planet. "Thanks for thinking about me."

"I always do." She muttered under her breath a little as the shuttle took off through the shuttle bay. "I'm just not, as much of an expert as you are on showing it."

Sitting back in his chair a little he shrugged. "Well, I mean you replicate me dinner sometimes. But you also are busy all the time, it's crazy you find time to even do that." It didn't matter that Q didn't need to eat or that sometimes even when she did replicate something new her replicator acted up and it wasn't even something a human body could consume. It was the thought that counted. As they got into the upper layer of the gas giant Q got out of his seat and walked around leaning against her seat. "So, Cupid, he's an interesting friend."

Q crossed his arms over his chest pausing a moment to look down a little worried at first until he realized he was okay. "He likes to think he's the continums gift to humanoids. Well, to anything really, from what I can remember." Q furrowed his brow finding his old memories with Q were not as clear as before. In fact Kathy probably knew Q a little better than he did right now.

"Is it common practice for him to switch the bodies of couples?" Janeway raised a hand and shook her head. "You don't need to answer that actually, I know the answer already." Janeway was startled when the shuttle started shaking. "What's that?"

Q took his seat again quickly looking over the controls. "We are getting some sort of interference in the lower stratosphere of the gas giant. Our sensors didn't pick this up before." The shuttle shook again a little more violently. "Hold on, we are going to have a rough landing." Janeway went to snap her fingers but nothing happened.

"I have bad news for you, I don't know how to actually put the shuttle back on Voyager."

Q paused looking at her for a moment, of all the times she had to go and get performance anxiety on him it had to be now. Just when he thought she had near full control of those powers too. "Oh, fantastic. Just hold onto something then." The shuttle lurched again as it entered the atmosphere of the M class planet, fire licking up along the sides of the shuttle as as came down too fast. "Going to slow our decent so we don't get turned into a particle shower."

Janeway held onto the arm of her chair and nodded her head. "Well, you will be a particle shower, I'll..."

Q interrupted her, "Unless you know how to pull every molecule of your body back together you are coming down with me Kathy."

"Good point." The shuttle slowed down as Q used his 'starfleet' training to bring her in 'softly'. Or as soft as one could bring down a crashing shuttle. The nose dove right at the ground digging up a deep trench as it plowed along the grown, one of the side stabilizers tearing off when it smacked against a tree. "I just have one question, what is it with you and shuttle's crashing?" Janeway yelled over at him.

"Is that me? I thought it was you?" He went quiet at the nose of the shuttle hit another tree and made Q almost smack his head into the consul. "Whiplash." Q finally spoke up again with the shuttle at a dead stop. "I have such bad whiplash right now."

"I'm fine." Janeway replied, she still couldn't feel a damn thing.

"Good for you Q." Q caught himself saying and sat up with alarm. "I meant Kathy." Rubbing his forehead he looked down at his hand to make sure he wasn't bleeding. Kathy's curse of head injuries seemed to have been passed on to him. Maybe it was the fact that despite being a big scary Starfleet captain she was tiny little figure. What sort of woman who looked like she could be snapped like a twig could kick his ass in velocity and hover ball? "I think we landed safely."

"Really? I think we crashed." Janeway snapped back, at least she had caught up on his sens of humor or this was going to be a rough ride. Getting up from her seat she walked over to Q's side pulling him away from the consul and looking at his forehead. "You hit your head."

"No kidding, you don't say." He groaned grabbing his forehead again.

"It's only a cut, still look beautiful."

"Well, isn't that the important thing." He grumbled pulling his hand away again. "How about you just take us back up to Voyager. Tell them we cut our trip short."

Janeway shook her head. "You know what, no. I brought you here so you could see this stupid planet so you need to get out of this shuttle and at least look at the stupid planet. Then I can take us back to Voyager." Q was about to say something. "No, not a word Kathryn." She paused. "Q." Taking in a breath she finally got it off her chest. "Listen, I know you can look after yourself and everything and I'm a jerk to you more than I should be but uh. I want to at least do something, anything for you to let you know...I'm there, I'm, listening. Most importantly, it's okay if you don't need me but..."

"Hold on Q...Kathy." Q sat quietly there for a moment. "I do need you, and not just for Amelia and Emily either." He sat there a moment looking away, who was speaking for who? Q felt like Kathy had just mentioned one of his fears and he had just answered that fear. "You might be all powerful but you don't understand the human heart very well do you. The metaphorical one, because I know you are well versed in the cardiovascular system. You don't have to...do things for me in order for me to need you. I just, do. You're the oxygen I need to breath."

Janeway went quiet for a moment. "And, I cause trouble around you a lot but I guess that's my way of working through things. It's not because I want you to necessarily suffer or cause you more headache than you already have. I'm just afraid...I'll never be good enough for you. Just look at Chakotay, he's a great guy and I'm just...well I'm omnipotent but that only gets you so far in a real relationship I found out."

Q took Janeways hand and looked up at him with a smile on her face. "That's the most human thing you have ever said." A strange gold spark moved up along both their arms from where their hands had met, like a volt or charge it hit them both in the chest making them jump a little. Janeway opened her eyes again looking over at Q, the actual Q. Letting his hand go she stood up from her seat running her hands over her body to make sure this was really hers.

"I have my body back." She seemed a little too excited before she realized she did indeed have whiplash and her forehead was killing her. "Oh, oh, pain. I almost forgot." Janeway sat back down in her seat.

Q looked around hearing her call out in excitement, glancing down at his own hands he let out a sigh and glanced over at Janeway. "You certainly do." He replied with a cocky smile. After living in his head for three days Janeway just smiled and leaned her head back, Q would be Q. She didn't need to try and change him or reel him in. She was just going to keep on letting him be Q and apologize for him if others got offended. "And your forehead is still bleeding."

She raised a hand up nodding her head. "I'm alright, it's just good to have this body back."

"Am...I still your oxygen?" He asked a little nervously.

Janeway looked back at him letting a tiny somewhat shy smile slip across her features. "I would say so, and in that case Q, I think I need a respirator right now."

He leaned in kissing her, "That better?"

"A little, I still hurt everywhere though." She pointed at him. "And don't worry, I'm not leaving you for Chakotay. Besides, I'm curious to know if you really have figured out it takes more that powers to make things work out."

"Well a good friend of mine said sometimes it's the little things that matter more." Q thought back to Chakotay's advice to him, or more so to Kathryn. Raising his elbow he offered his arm to her. "Still want to see the red sky."

Janeway looked at his arm and shrugged. "Such a gentleman." She reached up to him. "Carry me?" Q was practically beaming now at her comment. He didn't even wait to see if she had been serious about that before picking her up and pulling her close to his chest. Walking to the shuttle door he gave it a few kicks until it started to open. That was going to have to get fixed eventually. Walking outside he moved into a clearing where they could better look up at the sky. Tom had been right, it was red, like a sky on fire, the moons glistening under the radiance of the single sun like ruby's. "I thought there would be more bugs."

"Anthropoids." Q corrected her before realizing she had been joking, the two of them shared a good laugh together not just over the joke but the past three crazy days. "You know, I'm surprised you still want to wear white on your wedding day. That's sort of an old tradition, not to mention you certainly are not a virgin." He knew better, he still remembered the names of all those boys his dead little Kathy had broken along the way. She certainly had quite the interesting past.

"You shouldn't be talking, you have a few secrets of your own." She paused looking back at him with a spark of mischief in her eyes. "Loki?"

Q shrugged and tilted his head to the side. "Like you are surprised?"

"Well it certainly explains a lot." She laughed. "Certainly not a honeymoon location but, it's still beautiful."

"Speaking of honeymoon, you didn't mention that in your dream wedding rundown, what was that? A five point essay? I said give me an idea not a walk through."

"I'm the captain Q I don't have time for a..."

"Don't give me that, Chakotay can run the ship for a weekend so you can have a honeymoon Kathryn. You deserve a few days off anyways. I'll take you anywhere you want to go, no holodeck. Any planet, any time even."

"That reminds me." She tapped her fingers against his shoulder. "While I was you I had Tom pack a little something extra for us, we may have crashed the shuttle but...we do have three hours before Voyager leaves orbit and I had Tom give us a little champagne and a dozen white lilies. If they survived."

"Captain, are you asking me on a date?" He stopped her a second then. "Champagne? Really Kathryn?"

She raised her finger to stop him knowing very well where this was going. "Non alcoholic."

"Now if only you could drink decaf coffee." He teased back.


	60. Letters From Home

The crew was excited to finally receive some word from home. After sending their 'SOS' through the alien communication network they finally got a response. Letters from home, Harry Kim naturally was going on and on about what his parents were probably going to write to him. Janeway was somewhat excited herself to get a letter from her friends and family but more than that she was interested in the coded message from Starfleet. She had Seven working around the clock to get as much information as possible before the signal degraded too badly and they lost it entirely. She had just come back from checking on Sevens progress and was handed a letter of her own, a letter from her family and even one from Mark. Seven had put them together after the current download. She walked into her Ready Room with the PADD in her hand and smiled when she saw Amelia crawling towards her. "Hello Amy." Janeway crouched down to pick up the baby and looked back over at where she had left her on the other side of the room. Since she had figured out how to crawl there were few places she couldn't get to now. "Do you want to help me read some letters?"

Kathryn sat down on her sofa holding Amelia in one arm and the PADD in the other. Her daughter wasn't as easy to carry around as she use to be, she had gotten fairly big and very strong. When he held onto Amelia you had to keep a good grip on her or she was going to worm her way out of your arms. Resting Amelia in her lap Janeway smiled as her daughter grabbed for the PADD in her hand. "Amelia, let go, mommy's got to read this." Janeway fought against the little girl for a while. The kid had one hell of a grip, once she had something in her hand it was only fifty fifty you would be getting it back. After a few more tugs Kathryn freed the PADD from Amelia's grip and held it up over the baby's head so she couldn't get a hold of it again. Despite it being out of her reach Amelia continued to reach up for it, whining once she realized she couldn't have it. "Well, if you would just be patient I could read it and then you can have it." She leaned back a little more and laughed as Amelia grabbed onto her shirt and tried to use her mother as an anchor so she could stand up. For her age she had figured things out quickly, standing was the next challenge she was tackling and doing a fairly good job at it. So long as Amelia had something to hold onto she could stand up but the second she lost her anchor she was down on the ground again.

Kathryn grabbed onto Amelia just in case the little girl realized she wasn't as sound on her feet as she would have liked to believe. "Look at this, we got a letter from your grandmother." Janeway smiled finally getting to hear from her mother after four long years, knowing her mother had finally received the good news that her daughter hadn't died. Janeway read on hearing the text in her mothers voice as the woman explained how much she had cried the day they told her Voyager and it's captain was still alright, just far from home. Her mother went on saying she had faith if anyone could bring Voyager back that it was Kathryn who could do it. Some news really surprised her then, her younger sister was engaged. A lot had really changed since Voyager had gotten trapped out in the delta quadrant. "Hmm, what do you know, I guess my sister's getting married." Amelia looked up at Janeway as she sucked on her fingers, her big green eyes studying her mothers face. "Don't give me that look." Janeway paused running a hand through her daughters locks. "I'm working on it myself." She had discussed the wedding quite a bit with Q lately but they hadn't decided exactly when they would do it. Then Janeway got to the point in her letter she had been nervous about, so they had told her mother about the baby and Emily.

Janeway smiled again after reading more of her mothers letter and looked down at Amelia. "Your grandmother says hello Amelia." She would have said that her mother was likely dying to meet her but the last few lines of her letter didn't seem to sit well with her. "Amy, are there other trips your father has taken you on outside of Voyager?" She looked back at her daughter as the little girl smiled at her and giggled a little. "I thought so." After reading her first letter from her mother she moved onto the one from Mark, the beginning of it an update on Mollie and assurance that all the puppies went to good homes. Part way through Marks letter Q appeared in the corner of the Ready Room and brushed off his shirt looking like he was covered in dirt.

"I'll be the first to tell you Kathryn, giving Emily those riding lessons has been my living nightmare. That pony hates me. I think Tom has been tinkering with it's personality matrix. "Don't worry about me, Emily managed to get that little demon under control just in time. I shut the program off and sent her to astrometrics. She wants to see what all this fuss is about and help Seven out." Q paused looking at Kathy with the PADD in her hand and little Amelia standing in her lap. "Oh, I see you got your letters already." He walked over and sat down beside her placing a hand on Amelia's back and watching as the little girl finally lost her balance and fell forward into her mothers shoulder. "Anything interesting."

"Mark's getting married." Janeway sighed, she knew he was going to move on eventually, she was happy he had moved on, after all she had been forced to move on.

"Well...congratulations to him?" Q put a hand on her knee and leaned a little closer. "So are you if you remember." He motioned over to the ring on her hand. He could understand on some level though, Kathy had loved this Mark fellow. She was suppose to have ended up as his wife but a lot could happen in four years. Especially four years being alone. Q looked back at Amelia as she reached out for the PADD in Kathryn's hands again. Grabbing the baby from Kathy's lap he bounced her lightly hoping it gave the girls poor mother a chance to finish reading her letters.

"You know, my mother said something rather interesting in her letter. Something along the lines of Amelia looking a lot like i did at her age. Curious how she would know since Starfleet couldn't have given her a holoimage." Q was about to say something when Janeway stopped him. "You took Amelia to meet my mother didn't you." Oh, she didn't sound too happy about that.

Q stopped bouncing Amelia and instead held the baby up like a meat shield or a means to distract Janeway a little. "You know, now that you mention it Amelia does look so much like you." She shot him another sharp glance making him hug Amelia a little tighter. After all Janeway couldn't hit the man who was carrying her child right? "Maybe I did take Amelia to meet her grandmother but it seemed to bother you knowing that your mother might never meet Amelia. I wish I could have taken Emily too but the other Q's are not certain what to make of her just yet. If ever they count her in with Amelia and myself she will be the next to go." Q tried not to look at Kathryn in case she was angry with him. Despite having his abilities back he was still a little fearful of her.

Instead of being yelled at and scolded however Q turned to face her only to have Kathryn kiss him. He hadn't expected that at all, it was much nicer having her kiss him than yell at him. "Thank you." Had he done something right for once? Did he do a good thing? Q smiled back at her.

"You're welcome." He smiled giving her knee a squeeze and looking down at Amelia as she was attacked by the hiccups. For a Q offspring who had few enemies hiccups seemed to be Amelia's only real nemesis. Especially from the look she got on her face every time she had them. Might as well have frightened the poor child with a jump scare. "I'm sorry Amelia?" He raised a brow and patted the baby on the head not that it improved her current dilemma. "Maybe you should just hold your breath." Amelia looked up at Q attacked by another hiccup and seeming rather bothered by this uncontrollable spasm of the diaphragm. "Aside from the signal degrading are you having any trouble from your reptilian friends yet?" Q asked looking back to the Captain. "If so, I might be able to help."

"Not yet but we expect trouble eventually." She smiled when Q offered his assistance. "I thought you couldn't interfere with the natural order of things."

"Well, I can't use my omnipotence but I can shove people into the right direction, pick up a weapon and accidentally let it fire off when aimed at primitive being, or pull my daughter out of harms way, maybe it just so happens in a panic I took her mother with me."

"I couldn't ask you to do that for me, though it's charming you would offer. When things get precarious you know more than any that Voyager needs her captain."

"Then I might just have to stay by her side and make sure she makes it through the fight." Amelia was able to hold back her hiccups long enough to blabber on at her father. "Not you little one, you would have to go someplace safe. You are too young the be a brave starfleet captain just yet." He laughed at her. It seemed funny now but if she ever followed in the footsteps of the Amelia he had met from the future then his daughter was going to be one hell of a fighter and just as stubborn as her mother. "But don't fret little Janeway, your time is coming."


	61. Hunters

"Can you believe the network is gone?" Kim spoke up to Tom over the noise of the mess hall. "Figures, our only link to the alpha quadrant, gone."

"Don't worry Harry, now that Starfleet knows we are out here it's only a matter of time before they establish another link with us.." Tom laughed. "Besides we still have all that data from Starfleet to go through yet."

"I hope so." Kim tried to keep posative.

Tom patted the man on the back and smiled at him trying to cheer up his old friend, "No need to worry Kim."

A familiar voice chimed in behind them then, a small voice, not quite Naomi Wildman's but another child aboard Voyager. "I don't understand why contacting this planet Earth is so important anyways." Emily spoke up holding a plate in her hands, a large chunk of red velvet cake and ice cream the only things currently present on her platter.

"And I wasn't aware that was what your parents want you to eat for lunch." Tom looked over the plate and back at her. "Using your replicator rations for junk food?"

Emily smiled back at him as the plate vanished in a flash of light. "Of course not." She replied holding her cocky little smile. "I'm just testing what Tuvok and Q have been teaching me."

"Well, it seems you have gotten a good grasp of your abilities, materializing and dematerializing things. Rather impressive." Kim added.

Emily smiled and reached down lifting the plate off the chair that had been sitting in front of her. "Not really, just moving things around, I actually used Kathryn's replicator rations to make this." Emily smiled back at Tom having learned more than just a few fancy tricks from Q. She was starting to pick up on his mischievous nature as well.

"I don't think your mother would be too happy to know you manipulated the replicator so you could have some cake and ice cream." Kim spoke up, ever the straight edge trying to keep others from wandering onto the path of dishonesty.

"I can always have Q fix it." Emily nodded her head seeming rather pleased. "Besides it's not like Captain Janeway needs her rations anymore, she has Q. He can do just about anything for her."

"Well, it's not fair to say that, he can't do anything." Tom corrected. Being closer to Q than most on the ship he was well aware Q had his limits.

"It's alright, I have Amelia, same concept applies." Amelia and Emily weren't pure Q like Q but once she had better mastery over her powers there likely wasn't anything they couldn't and wouldn't do for each other.

"Q or not, you probably shouldn't do that again." Kim added once more trying to make sure Emily got a sound sense of right and wrong.

"Yeah, and you should probably eat something better than just that." Tom added, not that it was his business what the kid ate. After all Emily was Q and the Captains problem not his.

Emily took a bite of cake and continued to look at Tom and Kim with a sort of disinterest before shrugging her shoulders. "I guess I'll ask Neelix if he can give me some vegetables then." She paused making a slightly disgusted look on her face. "Though anything Neelix give me could be just as bad for my health." She glanced down at the cake and ice cream. "If not worse."

"You know what they say, a growing girl needs her leola root stew." Mr. Paris didn't seem very convincing with that little phrase and Emily didn't seem to awe inspired to go running up to Neelix and ask for a bowl of stew. In fact it looked more like she was contemplating obesity and stunted growth more and more after he had spoken. Emily took another bite of cake and glanced back to Neelix then back to Tom and Kim.

"You know what, I think I'll just stick with this for now. I mean, I could very well live forever, I don't think diet factors into a Q's longevity." And if she was proven wrong she would take those extra years off her life with grace. Turning and leaving Emily took a few more bites of cake before leaving the mess hall and slurping up the ice cream that had melted into a soupy consistency. No one else gave her trouble as she walked along heading to Wildman's quarters and to where Amelia currently was. Neelix and Wildman seemed to be the two people left to watch Amelia the most outside of her own parents. Every now and again the Doctor watched over her but since he was busy with patients he didn't always have the time. Emily tried to stick around the Doctor and Seven the most herself only because she learned the most from them, but straying too far from Amelia felt particularly frightful to her. It was like having a constant magnetic pull towards each other, Amelia and Emily had to be together. Needless to say it was because of her need to be near Amelia that she was forced to be around Wildman and neelix more than she liked. Forced to attach herself to Q and Kathryn more than she liked. Emily shoveled a few more bites of cake into her mouth as she passed a group of ensigns.

Stopping at the trubo lift Emily turned around looking at the lights along the hall and noticing they had changed from their usual bright illuminating white to the sinister red. Flashing warnings to the crew to get to their posts, red alert was called when Voyager was in trouble. Crew members were quick to clear out from the hall, Tom and Kim had left the mess hall and ran past her into the turbo lift so they might reach the bridge and lend their hands to getting Voyager out of this situation. Whatever situation Voyager happened to be in. Seeing that Emily had no real station to occupy during a crisis she decided the best thing she could do was be with Amelia. Janeway and Q would have preferred for the both of them to be together during a crisis and Emily felt helpless without Amelia at her side. Despite being the older of the two Emily also knew herself to be the weaker of the two. Dropping the plate in her hands she ran to the nearest jefferies tube. It would be a bit of a climb down but one Emily had to be willing to take if she would reach Amelia. Pulling the hatch open on the jefferies tube Emily found herself holding her breath as if she was going underwater. She didn't like cramped spaces. Everyone was entitled to their own little simple fears, Amelia was afraid of the dark, Emily was afraid of tight spaces. Holding back her panic though she climbed through the jerfferies tube closing her eyes tight and feeling her way to the next junction where the ladder down would be. Her heard racing in her chest as she told herself she wasn't in a small space, she was in an open room.

Reaching the ladder down she opened her eyes and took hold of the first bars starting to climb down when the ship started shaking as if it was under fire. Grabbing onto the bars Emily let out a scream hanging onto the ladder for dear life. Even though the drop wasn't that far she felt like she was hanging over the side of a cliff. If only Amelia was here, she would be able to do this with her sister here. They always faced scary things in the dreams they shared but they were always with each other. Emily wasn't afraid then, she felt brave. It only gave her more reason to keep going, to reach Amelia so they could be safe, so they could be brave. Janeway would want them to face their fears and be brave. Taking in another deep breath she continued down the ladder and screamed again when the ship was struck once more. Her grip slipping off the bars and causing her to go crashing to the next level. Despite the pain in her shoulder Emily crawled along the floor so she could open the next shaft and descend a second ladder. What would Tuvok say in a situation like this? Your fear is illogical? Moving down the second ladder Emily had a better time at it even with a shoulder injury. She moved faster because she had to move faster. If she didn't reach the deck Wildman's quarters were on she would have a panic attack and likely die in here. She couldn't be remembered as the coward who died in the jefferies tube because she was too afraid to keep moving.

It felt like hours wandering partially lost and going down deck after deck before Emily pulled open the hatch to freedom. The ship had been shaking and jolting almost the whole trip down making her stomach churn. Pulling herself out of the vent Emily stepped out on shaky legs feeling like all that red velvet cake she had eaten was going to come back up. No time to get sick now, she was on the right floor, all she had to do was reach Amelia now and they would be okay. Walking down the hall Emily fought her wobbly legs and ignored the eerie feeling she got from the flashing red lights. There wasn't anyone on this deck it seemed, it made her wonder if Sam Wildman and Naomi would even be here. They had to be here though, where else would they go? Grabbing onto the wall for support Emily took in a few more deep breaths remembering what her father had told her to do when the Vidiian's where chasing them down. She hadn't been afraid then, she had maned the ship by herself and found Voyager on her own. She hadn't been afraid when her father had been injured in an attack and their shields were down. She shouldn't be afraid now.

Turning the corner Emily took a few steps back seeing figures she didn't recognize. They were not starfleet crew members but rather tall beings with dark plated armor that looked like bones. Taking a few steps back Emily gasped trying to make her feet move so she could run. Her hand leaving the side of the wall as she continued to stumble back and fall to the ground. It reminded her of a nightmare she had once or perhaps it had been Amelia's nightmare. In the end it never mattered, so long as they were in those dreams and nightmares together nothing could hurt them, but Amelia wasn't here now. One of the strange men turned to look at her, his eyes empty and dark, his skin covered in lumps like scales. "Grab her." He pointed at Emily as she clambered to get back on her feet and run. Grabbing the wall again she turned around running into another dark armored monster. His arms grabbing her and lifting her off the ground as she kicked and screamed. Emily tried to think of something she could do, how she could escape from them. "Lock her up with the other two." The rough voice continued, his eyes gazing over her. "She's too young and frail for the hunt."

"Amelia." Emily screamed hopping the baby Q would be able to help her. "Amelia please." She continued to beg and kick her legs.

"Shut it you little whelp." The 'leader' ordered.

"No." Emily growled back feeling less afraid now, her eyes focused on him as her pupils started engulfing her emerald iris. The weapon in his hand started sparking, the components inside going haywire until it overheated so badly he was forced to throw it to the ground and jump back. The Hirogen hunter looked down to his weapon glowing a fire hot red now and back to the little girl.

"Did she do this?" He smiled at her, so pretty and small but more than she appeared to be. "I have changed my mind, do not put her with the other two young. This one is prey."

"She's still young alpha." The Hirogen holding her spoke up as Emily continued to thrash in his grip, kicking and screaming.

"She may be young but she is a challenge for the hunt." He nodded to his subordinate. "Prepare this prey, I'll hunt her myself, alone."

"Amelia, Amelia help me." Emily screamed out again wanting her little sister to come show these 'lizards' what a real 'challenge' was. Still Amelia didn't come, they must have captured her as well, moved her too far away to hear Emily's cries for help. "Daddy." Emily screamed out for Q knowing if anything he would come get her. "Daddy help." The leader nodded his head, his subordinates carrying Emily away down the hall again as she continued screaming for help. "Daddy."

"Hush little one, your father can't help you now."


	62. The Almighty Prey

Emily couldn't decide what was the curler joke, being hunted by giant lizards or being hunted inside the program Q had put together for her to live out her pirate fantasy. She ran through the underbrush of the jungle resting only when she found the old cave behind the waterfall. Old skulls looked up at her from the slick wet rocks, their toothy grins seeming rather unnerving to her now without Q around. They had been at this for days, hunting down the crew and fixing them up but more than anything their leader had focused on her nearly every day. Sending her here to this program and letting her have a head start before coming after her himself. Almost every time he caught her easily, without much of a struggle from Emily and every time he seemed more and more disappointed. What did he expect from her? Amelia had always been the strong one, if she had Amelia here her sister would teach him a lesson or two. Moving into the back of the cave where it was still dry Emily sat down and curled her legs into her chest. Her chin rested on her knees as she brushed the snot out of her nose and sniffled a little trying to keep as quiet as possible. She couldn't let herself cry again, every time she made a sound he found her and every time he found her. Slowly Emily tried to slow down her breathing, her mind falling back to Amelia and Naomi. She wondered if they were being hunted as well, she thought about Q and where he might be, certainly they couldn't catch Q. He was too strong, and what about Captain Janeway? Was she alive? Was she dead?

For the first time since coming to Voyager the thought of Captain Janeway getting hurt made her cringe. What would she do if the captain died? Emily swallowed hard holding back another torrent of tears. She couldn't think about that right now, she had to think of something else. Pulling her legs closer to her chest she blinked her eyes a few times and sat amazed that even over the road of the waterfall she could hear the beating of her own heart. Racing faster and faster like the gallop of her pony Pepper. Perking up and turning her attention back to the caves entrance Emily felt her whole body jolt like a startled rabbit. Footsteps were coming her way. She got to her feet moving back against the cave wall again and trying to remain quiet. Maybe he wouldn't come in here if he didn't see her. Holding in her breath she saw his silhouette on the other side of the waterfall. Her arms and legs shaking as he crept closer. It took all the self control in her body to hold herself back. If she ran now he would catch her, if she ran too late he would catch her. She had to time it perfectly. To slip past him and run for her life when she had an opening, an opening he couldn't close too quickly. Pulling a hand over her mouth she tried to keep him from hearing the quiver in her every breath.

Shifting her gaze to the water as a figure walked through it Emily tried to talk herself up, think about the games she played on the holodeck with Captain Janeway and Tom Paris. Sliding along the cave wall she moved back towards the waterfall once he stepped into her cave, his eyes peering through the dark. Emily counted herself down as he walked closer to the middle of the cave and with all the power and strength in her legs she pushed off against the rocks ready to put everything she had into a full sprint. At first Emily was amazed by the speed she was going, her arms swinging hard as she closed the gap between herself and the waterfall. She was really going to do it, she was really going to get away from him. The black treads of her boots kicked up small pebbles as she sprinted but the slick surface of the larger rocks had been where she failed. Sliding a boot across one of the bigger rocks Emily suddenly felt herself flying through the air and reaching out desperately for anything to catch herself on. Unfortunately the first solid thing she had to catch herself was the rocks beneath her. She hit the ground hard almost knocking the air from her lungs, her hands grabbing onto anything they could and pulling herself forward. Crying out as the sharper rocks cut up her hands Emily got to her knees and pushed herself through the waterfall feeling the full pressure of the water pin her to the rocks again for a frightful second. Emily could hear her heart beating in her ears, her fingers grabbing for the surface. Just when she felt her lungs burning for air Emily was lifted up from the water kicking and choking. The hunter holding his prey above the waterline. "You'll have to do better than that whelp." He growled and tossed her back into the water.

Pushed past the weight of the waterfall Emily was drug off down the river feeling less like she was actively escaping the hunter and more like she was being tossed along the waterway. Rising up to the surface again she choked up more water kicking her legs and beating her arms to stay afloat as the current carried her away. From playing the holodeck program with Q Emily knew the river lead right to the ocean, right out to the sharks and right out to the sea monster. Why was their a sea monster? Because there were always sea monsters in pirate myths. A long lost island that was never on any map, guarded by a sea monster, and cursed int he blood of pirates. Yes, what a child friendly adventure. Emily pumped her legs harder now reaching out for the shoreline and overhanging branches in her path. Getting out of the river before she hit man eating sharks was preferred, especially since she knew the safety was turned off. At last her fingers gripped the roots of an upturned tree that had fallen part way into the river. Her hands gripping tight to the bark despite the pain and the blood running from her cut up fingers. Her mind wandered back to the day in the jefferies tubes when she had been trying to get to Amelia. That panic and fear that she would never see her sister again took her over and made her shiver harder against the cold water, made her grip nearly slip. Emily took in a deep gulp of water, choking on the fishy taste as she kicked her legs and pulled herself up against the tree more. Her mind wild with fear and panic, wanting to just lay down in her comfortable bed and hear Janeway read Oliver Twist to her again.

"Mommy." Emily cried out knowing Janeway couldn't answer her. She wasn't here to help her but somehow crying for her gave her something better to do than just cling desperately to the side of the tree. Resting her face against the rough bark Emily wished she had called her that in person, even just once before she died. She had never given the woman enough credit, Janeway had been more than the mother Emily had always dreamed of having, the mother she thought she would have found in Amelia if Amelia hadn't been a 'helpless' little baby. The mother she use to put herself to sleep with at night describing. Pretty and nice with a kind voice, who read her stories and tucked her in, who hugged her when she felt lonely and cheered her up when she felt sad. Who said she loved her and kept her promises. Clawing against the tree Emily tried pulling herself further out of the water, her body shivering. "Mommy." She cried softly to herself. All she wanted was to close her eyes and fall asleep, wake up in her bed to Janeway telling her it was time to get up. Emily took deeper breaths feeling afraid and angry, angry that the hunters had pulled apart her good life, just once she started to belong, started being happy. From the lab to the chopping block. She should have just stayed away from Voyager and died in the lab, it would have been better.

Using her new found anger and hatred for the Hirogen hunters Emily pulled herself up onto the tree growling. Her eyes shifting over to the shadows where the hunter was walking from, following her down river. Emily stood up holding her own on the dying tree, her footing much sounder now than in the caves. She wasn't running this time, he wanted to fight her, he was going to fight her. "You want to hunt me." Emily yelled out. "You want to kill me." She growled. "Then just do it already." Her voice was challenging him rather than begging him. Challenging him to come after her, to feed her anger. Maybe she wasn't as powerful as Amelia in the real world but this wasn't the real world. This was the holodeck and Emily had learned to control one thing with ease, technology. The safeties were shut off, this was her world now. Glaring at the Hirogen hunter as he showed himself and pulled his knife Emily smiled, her heart still pounding in her ears. "You know what every great pirate adventure needs?" Clenching her fists she concentrated on the hidden holodeck panel. "Undead pirates."

The Hirogen took another step closer being stopped in his tracks when a skeletal hand burst from the ground and grabbed his ankle. It was easy enough for him to pull his foot away but as soon as he took a step back another hand burst from the ground. More and more hands and legs came from the ground pulling fully formed skeletal pirates from the ground, swords clenched in their teeth. That should hold him off for a while. Running along the tree stump she jumped back onto the shore and ran for the beach. Hopefully Voyager was still there, not the space ship Voyager but her ship Voyager. She might not have been wearing her captains uniform but her crew if they too were in the program would still recognize her, ship canons without the safeties on would be pretty lethal too. Emily kept sprinting full speed until she was slowed down by the sand on the beach. Her eyes scanning into the horizon for Voyager. "Dammit." Emily cursed catching the word in the back of her throat for a second in fear someone would hear her curse. Janeway didn't like when she swore even if she had learned it from Q. "Stupid Voyager, you should be right over there." She grumbled, making a few skeleton pirates show up in a holodeck program was one thing but trying to fish through to put Voyager back in, it was going to take a while. Time she didn't have. Her only other option, escape. "I can do this."

Turning on her heels she walked back towards the jungle, all she needed to do was use her powers to see beyond the holograms, like Amelia did. Something easier said than done, at least in her her eyes she looked around trying to see the small room beyond the holograms. "Amelia, I could really use your help right now." Emily whispered to herself as if her sister would hear her and just appear to aid her. If only things were so simple. "You have put up more of a fight than ever before little whelp." Emily turned on her heels seeing the Hirogen hunter walking her way again. "But you don't cover your tracks, you are loud, your techniques are unrefined. Given time you could become a most worthy opponent, the most worthy prey." She took a few steps back towards the ocean and stood still, afraid of the monsters under that glossy black water.

"Stay away." She warned feeling like she was all out of tricks. Her tone of voice not as confident as it was before.

"I am afraid this hunt has come to an end." He moved up faster to her and raising his blade as though he would plunge it down into her chest. Emily closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact and possible death but she never felt the sting of the blade nor the rush of her own blood washing down her chest. Shaking a moment longer with eyes shut tight Emily slowly opened them looking up at the Hirogen hunter. "You are not that prey yet, but you will be little whelp." Emily breathed out as he lowered his blade and grabbed her arm holding her tightly. "Computer end program." The hologram around them shut down and the holodeck door slid open. Dragging her along Emily struggled to keep up and reluctantly followed him out of the holodeck and into the hall. He ended up taking her to the brig and throwing her inside the first cell. "You sit there whelp, I'll get you food." Emily moved to the back of the cell quickly crawling under the hanging bed. Her keens pulled up against her chest.

"I want my mommy." Turning her big green eyes up to the Hirogen he showed a look of minor disgust at her request.

"Silence whelp."

"I want my mommy." Emily screamed louder closing her eyes tight and nearly shredding her own tired vocal cords.

"Do not make me slit your throat..." He paused looking back down at her. "And I'll get you a change of clothes."

"I want to see my sister Amelia first."

The Hirogen hunter glared back at her. "No."

"Is she dead?" Emily's lip quivered, her eyes tearing up at the realization she may never see Amelia again but worse than that her sister might be gone.

"No, the other young are being cared for by member's of this ships crew. We do not kill the young of our prey."

"You're trying to kill me." She reminded him.

"You are worthy prey."

Emily stood up, her lip still quivering. "I'm not prey. My name is Emily Janeway, I'm only a year old, my mommy's name is Captain Kathryn Janeway, my daddy's name is Q, my sisters name is Amelia Janeway. We are not prey we are people." She paused panting. "Please, I want to see my sister."

The Hirogen took a step back raising the shield up on the cell and turning his back on Emily. "I will see what I can do but I make no promises. I am not the alpha of this operation."

"Thank you." Emily peeked out from under the bed a little. "Even if you are trying to kill me."


	63. Locked in Wars

Emily had been given a change of clothes and a warm bowl of leola root soup. As much as Emily didn't like the soup it was better than starving. She had been hunted for four days straight without food or rest. Even now she found it hard to shut her eyes, the constant fear someone was coming to get her, the fear her sister was in danger. Emily couldn't sleep and because she couldn't sleep she couldn't dream, and because she couldn't dream it meant she couldn't 'find' Amelia. Seven called it the Q collective, or more so the hybrid Q collective, the collective of two. Perhaps it was a fluke, a flaw from creating her from Amelia but Emily had shared dreamed with Amelia since coming to Voyager, shared thoughts, shared emotions even. Just like Seven had said, the Q collective. Emily had asked several times to see her sister, to see her parents but the Hirogens had ignored her request instead only bringing her soup and bread. Fattening her up for the slaughter most likely.

Sitting up on the cot Emily ran her fingers over the walls tracing out patterns she made up. Janeway had told her once that her sister was a painter. Something Emily enjoyed doing. As she worked to get her mind off of everything negative the brig doors slid open. A Hirogen hunter, the one who had tracked her many times before in his sport. She was quick to slip off the cot and crawl beneath it knowing he may very well have come back to send her back to the 'hunting grounds'. Coward under the cot the Hirogen hunter stood before her cell and lowered the force field. "Whelp." He growled at her as though she was some trained hunting dog. "Come here." Emily ignored him instead backing further into the wall behind her. "For someone of skill you are quite the coward." He snapped his fingers at her. "I do not wish to hurt you whelp." She stayed in her spot, her eyes fixed on him, watching every little twitch. "Come quickly whelp before the others do." He had a hint of concern in his voice now.

"Wh...what's wrong?"

"Some of the prey have escaped the hunt, our alpha is dead. The hunter who killed him, he has ordered the men to kill, to complete the hunt. They will come for you whelp, they will hunt you, and you will die."

"Why do you care, you want to kill me don't you?" She pulled herself back closer to the wall but the Hirogen hunter seemed intent on keeping his eyes fixed on the brig doors behind him.

"You are only a whelp. You should not be hunted. Perhaps one day you will be worthy prey, for now you are weak, helpless. Despite the thigns you can do, it wouldn't be right."

"So you will spare my life now so you can take it later? That's right to you?"

"I could leave you here to die." He snapped back at her, his dark eyes glaring down at her hiding spot. Slowly Emily crawled out from under her cot, her eyes turning back up to him.

"What about my sister and Naomi? My parents?"

"The other young will be left alone, there is no honor in hunting them. Your parents, they may be killed."

Emily ran out from under the cot rushing forward at him with pleading eyes. "You can't let them die, please they are my parents." The Hirogen either didn't understand the concept of parents or didn't care.

Grabbing her shoulder he tugged her along. "I must get you out of here now." Emily followed behind him dragging her feet along the hallway and looking back up at the Hirogen. She couldn't keep up with his longer stride, a problem she encountered with most adult humanoids. In her failed attempts to keep up with him Emily ended up tripping over her own feet and falling down to the ground twisting her ankle in the process. "Get up." The Hirogen growled at her pulling on her arm strong enough to almost dislocated it.

"Ouch." Emily cried out sliding across the ground a little before falling back down the the floor and holding her knee. "I can't, I hurt my foot." Emily tried to get up, hopping like a little rabbit before falling back to the ground and groaning as she grabbed for her ankle this time. The Hirogen hunter paced back and forth thinking of just leaving her to die in the hallway. She wasn't worth the trouble. Moving away Emily let out a little cry trying to stand back up on her feet again and falling back over. What a pathetic little beast, it should have died at birth. Turning he walked back to Emily and lifted her off the ground holding her with one arm. Emily was quick to do what she always did if someone carried her, wrapping her arms and legs around the Hirogen hunters body and holding on tight so he didn't drop her. Back in the Vidiian labs it had been more common for her to be carried around, that way they never had to wait for Emily to play catch up with them when they were in a hurry.

"You are almost not even worth saving weakling, I should just leave you here."

"Then why don't you? Nothing is stopping you." For someone who claimed to want her dead so badly he certainly was going out of his way to save her.

"Silence or I will leave you." He growled back carrying her to the turbo lift and stepping inside. Emily remained quiet for now, she still didn't know where they were going or where Amelia and her parents were but outside of the brig now Emily intended to find out. They were going down to the lower decks, she could tell from the pressure in the tubrolift and the gravitational pull, smaller things that normal humans didn't tend to notice. If her mother was being hunted then she was up a few decks from the one they had been on. He was taking her the wrong way, down towards the cargo bays and the shuttle bays. When the turbolift stopped Emily looked around noticing what deck they were on, yup, he was headed for the shuttle bay.

"Why are we going to the shuttle bay?"

"I told you to be quiet."

"And I asked you why we are going to the shuttle bay."

The Hirogen shifted her in his arms a little. "I am taking you to one of Voyager's shuttles, you can escape from there."

"You mean run?" Emily unwrapped her legs from around him and pointed her toes to the floor trying to slip out of his grip. She wasn't going to run just to have the Hirogens hunt her down. "I'm not leaving Amelia, I'm not leaving my mommy."

The Hirogen lifted her up over his head and shook her hard. "Then you will die." Emily screamed kicking her legs out to hit him in the face but it was no use. Instead she fixed her eyes on one of the ships control junctions behind the Hirogen hunter, her pupils engulfing her green iris as the panel shot sparks and overloaded causing a burst at his back. Emily screamed as he dropped her sending her to collide with the floor as he jumped in pain shouting over the spray of sparks. With her good leg she wound up and kicked him hard in the shin feeling more pain than he did from her 'attack'.

"You can be the one to die, I'm not leaving Voyager." Emily crawled away quickly as he dropped to his knees trying to stop the pain sparking over his flesh caused by the electrical burns from the panel. Her hands trembled as she stopped at an access vent into the jefferies tubes, just what she wanted, to crawl through the jefferies tubes again with a giant killer lizard chasing her. Emily felt her heart racing, her mind reaching out to Amelia. "You better help me through this Amy or I'll..." Her voice was cut short by the sound of the Hirogen hunter roaring out with rage. Climbing into the jefferies tube she closed the hatch behind her and started crawling as fast as she could. Her smaller size finally working to her advantage. Even if adults could walk faster than her she could move faster in the jefferies tubes. Why? Because adults had to crawl, Emily could almost run. Even with the pain in her right ankle she placed her hands on either wall of the jefferies tube and started limping along with as much speed as possible, keeping her head low so she wouldn't bump it. From behind her she could hear the Hirogen hunter follow after her, each step she took making her clench her jaw and whine.

Despite the fear of being caught she felt a constant sensation of the walls closing in around her making Emily crouch down a little lower than she needed to. Emily panted continuing on her path through the jefferies tubes until she reached a hatch leading her back up to the deck where the holodecks were located. Pulling herself up mostly with her arms she was trying to be light on her feet or more so foot. Each time her ankle rolled from the sprain she cringed and clung to the bars tighter letting out a little hiss in pain. Every now and again Emily looked back behind her and stopped to listen for her pursuer. Reaching the next level up she closed the hatch behind her and continued through the jefferies tubes still checking behind her and even in front of her now as she limped along. Janeway and Amelia better be proud of her for this. Emily turned another corner keeping up her pace and stopping only when he leg hurt too much that she needed a small break. Certainly by now no one could be following her. She had to have lost the Hirogen. Turning around she walked backwards pausing again to listen for any sound that would give away another being moving about.

Comforted by the silence Emily turned back around and continued her trek breathing heavily as the tubes started twisting and bowing in her mind. Her panic was finally getting the best of her making these small close off tunnels look more like an elongated maw lined with teeth, the hissing innards of a monster that had swallowed her alive. Emily tripped and stumbled a little more now feeling dizzy or drunk, her body crashing into the side of the tube and making her jump and struggle to escape the walls. Taking in deep breaths she tried to keep herself from hyperventilating, her eyes wide with fear as she clawed at the air in front of her in a panic to find a hatch out. She had to get out of the jefferies tubes, even if it took her right back into a Hirogen hunting party she couldn't stay in here much longer. Shaking she turned another corner hardly noticing anything around her, the walls of the tubes closing in on her even more as she crashed into another person and tried letting out a scream. Emily was pulled down, her mouth covered by a hand as she kicked and screamed, her voice muffled by the persons hand over her mouth. "Emily." The little girl's eyes were full of tears when the voice finally whispered at her, they knew her name, a slight warmth entering her chest as she recognized the voice and stopped screaming, her breathing slowing down significantly.

"Mom...ma" Emily stuttered partially throwing her arms around the woman's neck and sobbing.

"Where is Amelia?" Janeway asked putting an arm around the girl and holding her close as her daughter sobbed, her little body shivering. Janeway rubbed the girls back trying to calm her down, her attention moving back behind her in case one of the Hirogens had heard the commotion and came to take a look.

"I don't know..." Emily continued to sob, her grip on Janeway tightening as she got the captains shoulder damp from her tears. "They separated us hu...hunted me...b..."Emily cried harder when Janeway put her other arm around the girl to comfort her. Q had asked her why she hadn't wanted to have children out here in the delta quadrant, this alone was shaping up to be a good enough reason not to. If they had hunted Emily she loathed thinking about Amelia and Naomi Wildman. Certainly they wouldn't hunt a baby and a 4 year old.

"It's alright Emily, we are going to find her. It's alright." Janeway continued to rub the girls back and quiet her down. She couldn't have Emily give away their position in the jefferies tubes. "Can you keep moving? Find someplace safe and lay low until we have gotten control of the ship?"

Emily clung on tighter to Janeway shaking her head no at the woman's request. "No, I'm staying with you, I'm going with you mommy I don't want to leave you."

The captain was taken aback a little when Emily called her mommy. Once or twice Emily had called her mother in a sarcastic tone when Emily had gotten in trouble but she had never called her mother let alone mommy and meant it. At least not until now. Janeway felt she had finally won over Emily's trust and a little more than that, maybe even her love. Janeway had been working hard to win Emily's trust, with how much hell the girl gave her she never expected she had actually gotten it. Brushing the curls out of Emily's face Janeway smiled at the girl. "It's too dangerous to come with me Emily."

Emily clung to her still. "But there is a hunter after me." She cried. Janeway held the little girl feeling terrified by the fact a hunter had been hunting Emily. The girl was only a year old despite seeming older than that. She didn't have the skills to defend herself in a hunt and it showed on Emily's face. That look of terror as she clung to her mother shivering. "Mommy your bleeding." Emily looked down at Janeway's leg.

"I know you are afraid Emily but you have to be brave. You can't follow me." She knew Emily would understand what the risks were to following her mother and most likely ignore them. "Take those jefferies tubes back down to holodeck two, the doctor is there and Neelix. They will look after you." Janeway started moving along back to her original course. "You are not the only one being hunted Emily, it's not safe with me." Janeway turned her attention back behind her hearing the Hirogen hunter who had gone after her. "Emily now, go."

Emily glanced behind her backing up into the tunnel she had come from. It took a little backtracking on her part until she found a hatch out of the jefferies tubes. Pushing open the hatch Emily crawled out into the loud ruckus that bleed out into the hallways of Voyager. Sounds of gunfire made the girl press her back against the hull and cringe as her eyes darted about the darkness and smoke. She had to make it to holodeck two like her mother had said, lay low with the Doctor and Neelix. Staying low and close to the wall Emily walked along holding her breath for as long as she could before choking back on the smoke. Turning a corner she backed up watching a small group of soldiers walk by. Once they had passed Emily darted across the hall and over to the door to holodeck two. When she stepped inside she expected to see the tropical island her father had programmed for her but instead she walked into a dark empty red rocky desert looking hole. It reminded her of Amelia's dreamscape the child use to dream up. Continuing to walk further into the holodeck she looked around finding nothing, no one. No doctor, no Neelix. Had her mother been wrong to send her here? "Hello?" Emily looked around smelling the smoke from a dead fire. If anyone had been here they were gone now.

"Hello." A deep voice replied, not the voice of the doctor nor the voice of Neelix but the voice of someone familiar. "So predictable. I knew you would come here, look for your mother. All I had to do was come to the holodecks. Since holodeck one is fighting a war my conclusion was you would come here instead. Especially if you had come across your mother already. She would send you somewhere safe." Emily turned around looking at the Hirogen. His weapon fixed on Emily. "You have given a poor excuse for a hunt." He groaned, half of his face burned from the explosion she had caused in the panel. "But now prey the hunt has come to an end." Pulling the trigger on his weapon it failed to fire the first three times. Of course, Emily had a funny way of making weapons fail or heat up in ones hands. Dropping the gun he pulled out has blade, now this she couldn't tamper with. He had learned that in hunting her. She couldn't make a blade stall, she couldn't make it heat up in his hand. Emily tried running past him only to get caught by the blade. the sharp edge cutting into her shoulder and making her fall forward against the ground with a scream.

Emily slapped her hand over the wound and screaming out in pain as the hunter followed her out. "Is that all the fight you had left in you?" With a harsh boot to the side Emily rolled over along the ground gasping as she caught herself against the wall. "All out of tricks." Emily sat up more letting out a defeated sigh and looking up at the hirogen hunter that had tormented her since they day they had arrived. Emily closed her eyes and looked away waiting for the pain of the knife sliding into her chest or stomach. That same painful burn like that on her shoulder but Emily wouldn't live with the pain long she hoped. Emily jumped hearing a gun go off. Her eyes opened to the sound of something heavy hitting the ground and seeing the Hirogen Hunter slumped over dead. His empty lifeless eyes looking over at her seeming to have never changed from when he had been alive. Looking back over she saw Captain Janeway, an old world war two gun in her hands. Emily didn't bother to ask where Janeway had gotten it from only crawled away from the dead body and closer to her mother.

"Mommy." Emily squeaked as Janeway rushed over and put her arms around the little girl. "Is it all over? Did we win?" Janeway picked up Emily stifled a little from the wound to her leg.

"For now." She hugged the little girl.


	64. The Q Continuum

Since the Hirogen attack Q had been away from Voyager more frequently claiming her had business to take care of in the continuum. It would have all been well and fine if not for one little problem. Since Q had gone off more often Amelia had decided to tackle one more major life step, walking. Being half Q seemed to come with a few benefits, mostly being Amelia learned to do everything normal human children could do in about half the time. The drawback being she was very good at running, not so good at keeping her balance. Janeway chased her younger daughter down the hall less so trying to catch her and more so trying to make sure when her daughter fell over it wouldn't be into the side of the ship. Typical of her children as well Amy wouldn't even settle for holding onto her mothers hand in the event of an emergency. She was much more content cutting free and going off on her own. Only eight months old and already deciding she was a free spirit, independent of both her parents now. "Amy, oh no." Janeway rushed forward grabbing the back of her daughters shirt when the baby tried following an ensign into his quarters. After being exposed even to the minor tug from her mothers grasp Amelia teetered on her feet and finally fell back on her butt looking up at Janeway with a sort of betrayed expression. "You can't go into other peoples quarters Amelia." Janeway explained as Amelia's look of betrayal turned to teary eyes and a frown. Slowly but surly Amelia broke down crying as thought getting knocked off her feet made it impossible for her to ever walk again.

Kneeling down Janeway picked the baby back up and got her back on her feet. "You're alright Amelia, you just took a little spill." She brushed her daughter off and smiled as the little girl finally stopped crying and blabbered at her in her usual gibberish. "I'm not quite sure what you just said but I'll take that as a sign I have been forgiven." Amelia smiled at Janeway ever being the little charmer. It was almost impossible to take her down to planet side when they were getting supplies or making trades. Even just getting a little shore leave. No matter where she took Amelia the little girl was quick to attract attention, sometimes good and sometimes bad. Mostly people just gushing over how absolutely adorable Amelia could be and then there were moments when Janeway was trying to explain her daughter wasn't a threat. Heck she even had to convince a peaceful species that Amelia hadn't been their long promised messiah. When your daughter was both charismatic and could turn an animal into a humanoid to spare it from being sacrificed it could be a difficult task convincing others she wasn't a god. Even if her father liked to think of himself as one.

This time the captain kept her grip on her daughters hands as they continued to walk down the hall, Janeway doing her best to keep up with Amelia since she was so intent on running everywhere. Keeping at a half jog the captain came across Tom Paris and B'Elanna, the pair looking over to the captain and smiling as they watched her hold onto Amelia desperately and trying to keep pace with the growing kid. "Heading to the bridge with our young Ensign captain?" Tom asked laughing when Amelia slowed down and looked over at the two Lieutenants.

"No, just being taken on a tour of deck ten." The captain laughed.

"Well you know what the say, every captain needs to know their ship. I guess you are just starting Amelia off early. By the time she's ready to take over she will know the place inside out." Torres joked.

"Oh, I'm not sure I'll be ready to retire by the time she wants to take over. If she had it her way she would be the captain right now." Amelia certainly thought of herself as the boss. Amelia pulled one of her hands from her mothers grip and started trying to walk away from her again. "And I better keep going before she runs off on me again." Janeway laughed keeping a good grip on her other hand when Amelia did what she always did when she wanted to escape but couldn't. In a bright flash of light Amelia was gone making Janeway panic and reach up for her com badge so the members of her crew could get a lock on Amelia's whereabouts. Every time, her daughter never failed to flaunt her natural Q given talents. Before Janeway could reach her com badge however a voice rang over the intercom system, Sevens voice.

"Captain Janeway, Emily has gone missing." Looking back up to Tom and Torres Janeway finally hit her com badge feeling more panicked by the minute.

"What do you mean gone missing?"

"I believe she used her transportation ability." Seven responded. "She was in astrometrics with me learning about pulsars. When I turned around she vanished."

The captain shook her head knowing that was impossible, Amelia was more than capable of transporting herself and others about the ship, she could even go off the ship if she really wanted to but Emily didn't have that kind of power. The girl could hardly transport a cup any farther than arms length from herself. Emily certainly couldn't transport herself. "That's impossible. Amelia must have transported her somewhere." Janeway pinched the bridge of her nose wishing Q was here to track down his girls. After all wasn't he suppose to be on Voyager to make sure someone could correct any 'accidents' they might cause with their powers? "Leave it to Amelia to wait for her father to be away to do something like thi..." The captains voice was cut off as she vanished up in a spark of bright light like Amelia had. Tom and Torres both ran to the spot the captain had been but knew there was nothing that could be done to get her back.

While her crew nearly went to red alert over the captain vanishing into thin air Janeway reappeared in a large white Greek styled looking room. Ancient pillars towering over her head with a large white room resembling an old world court room a little. Standing in place Janeway circled around looking at the scene with confusion and alarm until a familiar figure dressed in black robes ran her way. "Kathryn." Q ran towards her and threw his arms around her. "I'm sorry I couldn't come and get you. I wanted to give you a warning before they started the trial but I wasn't allowed to leave."

Janeway pushed him back shaking her head. "Trial? What trial?"

Q held her shoulders looking at her with a heavy sigh, concern crossing his face. "Amelia's trial. The council was trying to decide what to do about Emily, questioning why she is here...Kathryn, they want to strip Amelia of her powers. She's in a lot of trouble right now. They are even talking about exile for both the girls. Claiming they are too dangerous to be left in human care." Janeway glanced around the room pulling away from Q and backing up.

"Where are they? Where is Emily? Amelia?"

"Safe, for now. They are being kept in holding until the trial is over and their fates are decided. I'm so sorry Kathy." He held the captain again feeling he was partly to blame for all this. If only he hadn't lost his powers he could have kept better track of his daughter and they wouldn't be in this trouble. "Don't worry though Kathy, we are getting our girls back. The Q I got to represent us, he's respected by the council."

"Who is it?" She asked turning her head to see a flash of light and a familiar face.

"Who else." He spoke up with a cocky grin.

"Qpid." She had come to give Q's 'old friend' the nickname since he seemed to revel in a long dead title of Cupid, god of love and in his case disaster. After having switched their bodies and tormenting them he was going to represent them in a case? Janeway looked back at Q hopping he knew what he was doing, for the sake of their daughters.

"The one and only." Qpid smiled dawned in his own black robe, his hair slicked back like a character in a 50's gangster film. He certainly had a flair for something, Janeway wouldn't call it fashion or vanity but it came damn close to it. Qpid always seemed more focused on his appearance than some other Q she had met, not that she had met many, just more than most. "Might I add Captain you look...saucy." Janeway glared back at him making him move back away from her a little more. Preferably from out of arms reach where she might grab him and throttle him.

"How are they going to put a baby on trial?" Janeway asked, honestly even if he daughter was a bit ahead of the learning curve to normal human babies she was still just a baby none the less.

"They aren't putting a baby on trial, they are putting a Q on trial." Qpid replied looking his nails over as he always did.

Q stepped over to her trying to explain when the 'judge' and jury walked in. Kathy recognized the man sitting down in the judges seat, the General Q who had made the deal with her Q. Given him the chance to change the continuum and bring peace by creating a hybrid, by creating Amelia. Another familiar Q stepped out, a female Q with long red curls, the female Q that had come aboard Voyager. "What is she doing here?" Janeway asked raising a brow. As she recalled she didn't much like that Q, after all the woman had called her a bitch.

"She's representing the other side. Unfortunately." Q responded. Nothing better than his ex working to destroy not just his work but his daughter. She had never been behind the whole hybrid thing anyways. From the start Female Q had made it clear she thought letting the Q bloodline get 'watered' down would cause nothing but trouble. How smug she was thinking her warnings had been correct. As the general, judge Q took his seat he waved his hand allowing the jury to finally seat themselves as well. "We should go take our seats." Q moved her to the front left side of the courtroom where he pulled a chair out from the table for the Captain. When Q, Janeway, and Qpid were all seated the judge nodded his head.

"The prisoner please." At the back of the court room the doors opened, two Q's dressed like 'security' officers, armed with Q weapons at their hip that looked surprisingly like phasers now. Janeway had come to the continuum a few times and it seemed every time the place changed along with the people. Q was always quick to remind her they only made it look this way so her tiny human mind could understand it. He had finally come to a point now it seemed where he didn't bother explaining the continuum to her anymore. The two grey dressed security Q walked on either side of a female Q, older, early to mid twenties from the looks of it. Despite her age change Janeway knew who it was almost instantly. The Q was dressed in a long blue dress, her dark curls put up into a half bun with a cascade of spiraling dark locks falling over her left shoulder. Blue butterfly clips were attached to the side of her bun, the wings trembling on the blue sparkling wings making them seem almost alive. The female Q had large blue/green sparkling eyes and feminine sharp features. A near perfect reflection of a Captain Janeway had once met.

Standing up from her seat she looked over at the graceful young Q. "Amelia?" Her attention moved down to the girls wrists shackled by what seemed like chains, oddly out of place for the otherwise modern looking weapons on the security Q's hips. "Why does she have chains on?"

Q grabbed Janeway's wrist coaxing her to sit back down. "They are not chains, that is only how your mind perceives them though to a Q they might as well be. It's another one of the continuum's works of 'justice'. A restrain designed to keep Q's from using their powers while on trial. Dreadful things." Q shivered clearly having been in his daughters place more than once. Seemed it was genetic, causing headaches for the continuum and coming before the council. Stopping Amelia at the table near her parents she was set down in a chair beside the captain, the girl turning her head and smiling at Janeway.

"Hello mother." It never ceased to amaze Janeway how unearthly Amelia looked as an adult, she even put the female Q to shame. Her very being seeming to shimmer with an other worldly light the other Q didn't have.

"Amelia, you are...all grown up." Janeway commented seeing the girl smile even in the face of her own trial. She hoped Amelia didn't have her fathers arrogance thus preventing her from realizing the potential danger she was really in. "How is this possible?"

"I'm a Q mother." Amelia tilted her head to the side as if it was obvious. "Partially anyways. I can change my appearance any time I like, I simply chose not to." Amelia confirmed nodding her head. "Naturally by changing my age my mentality and personality matures as well."

"Why haven't you ever changed before?" It seemed it would be easier to survive on Voyager if Amelia took an older form. One where she was more than capable of defending herself.

"I'm human as well mother, I'm not like other Q. I have been given the opportunity to experience a full life. Why would I sacrifice that for the sake of vanity or power? Besides I take pride in who I am, all of who I am and I do like being human as much as I am certain you do." For someone her age she certainly was mature, especially for a Q. As sad as that sounded Q's liked to do everything the easy way with the least effort. Amelia here scarified being a true 'Q' in order to be a human and a normal child. Amelia glanced around the courtroom showing a slight look of concern. "Though I suppose this had put a mark in my ideal childhood. Father assured me after the trial he would erase my memories of this to spare me so I might continue to 'enjoy' my human lifestyle." Being burdened with the memories of being an adult Q with her full capabilities would be a bit of a drag on her 'innocence'.

Qpid leaned over the table looking at Amelia with a big grin on his face. "I think you should stay like this, you are...well." Almost in perfect unison Q and Janeway both looked over at him, Q looking like he could put his fist through his best friends chest. "Just saying she's, lovely." His desire to save her life was renewed. Even if she went back to being a little baby she would grow up and Qpid was a patient Q. More so than his friend Q. He would wait around for a century for her.

"Court is in session." The judge announced looking over to Amelia. "This, Q...is facing charges against the continuum. Her use of her powers and disobedience to our laws has lead to not one but two serious problems." He leaned over his stand looking down at Amelia but like the good captain Janeway Amelia looked back at him unphased by his glare. He couldn't frighten her, especially when she knew she hadn't really done anything wrong. "Your first offence being the creation of another Q without permission from the the council." He pointed to the door as two more security Q drug in another figure, still a young scrawny wild eyed looking Emily. Her attention darting around the room frantic making her look like some sort of wild animal. The poor girl was trapped between seeing the continuum for what it truly was and the illusion the Q had made for Janeway. Her mind not quite advanced enough to comprehend or even register what she was seeing. No way of understanding this place she was in, this continuum. Unlike Amelia Emily didn't belong here, not with her broken fragmented mind. Torn between mortal and 'god'. "And a poor recreation at this, damaged, unpredictable, uncontrollable."

Amelia stood up turning to look at Emily as the girl walked towards them, her eyes still moving about wildly. Unlike Amelia she wasn't chained up, there wasn't a need to chain her. Her abilities were so poorly developed she was no threat to the Q or the continuum. Hardly a step above a normal mortal. To the other Q she was a sad reflection of what could have been this mighty Amelia to guide them into their uncertain future. It seemed their 'messiah' had broken a rule to play god and make this sad shadow but to Amelia Emily was no shadow. She was family. "Emily." Amelia cried out to the young girl, for the first time between the two Emily was the small one, the helpless baby standing before the towering adult Q. Something strange happened when Emily heard Amelia's voice. Her wild glances all came to a single focus on the illusion around her and the one thing that wasn't an illusion, Amelia. Looking over the older Q Emily let tears run down her face, let out a sigh of relief.

"Amelia?" Emily ran to Amelia throwing her arms around her 'sister' and feeling the older Q hug her back despite her restraints. For the first time in Emily's life she felt everything was set right. Her chance to finally meet the person she had dreamed of her whole life. The Q who had made her, someone above and beyond just an 8 month old baby who lived on Voyager. Her Amelia.

"I promised I would never leave you." Amelia smiled lifting the girl off the ground with relative ease and cradling her more like a daughter than a sister. The judge nodded his head as the two Q reached out and pulled Emily away, the girl flailing her arms and reaching back out for Amelia crying for her. "Give her back." Amelia shrieked grabbing her skirt and lifting it a little as she stepped towards Emily and her 'captors'. "Leave her alone she isn't apart of this, it's me you want to punish not her."

"She's evidence." The judge confirmed.

"She's not evidence she's a little girl, a human girl at that. Mostly human anyways." Amelia reminded herself, poor Emily, neither half Q nor whole human, something lingering between. Like a sickly fawn born too small and never able to grow into a strong graceful adult like it's siblings.

"But not completely human is she." The judge nodded. "And how may I ask is that possible? When Q can only be created by other Q?"

Amelia looked back to Emily, she had never meant for Emily to get hurt. Never meant for her to be afraid, to be apart of this. "Because I made her." Amelia admitted looking back at him giving him her mothers famous death glare.

"And why would you go an try to invent another Q?"

"I was lonely." Amelia admitted. "I was the only Q like me, I was alone. I wanted company, I wanted a friend, a sister. Someone who could think like me, who understood what I did, who saw the world as I did. Someone to share with. You can't understand that, the rest of you have been cut from the same cloth but not me. I'm different. I'm not like you." She looked to Emily seeing the girl was no longer crying but instead watching Amelia with wide eyes. "Neither of us are like you. We are a breed all our own." Slowly Emily let a smile cross her face watching her 'sister' her progenitor. Emily had always known on some level Amelia was a mother to her, not quite the same as a mother figure as she had come to see Janeway but Amelia had been the flesh and the 'spirit' she was cut from and created from. Hearing Amelia finally say those words brought a sense of peace to the girl. An answer to who she truly was. She hadn't been a mistake cooked up in a lab, she had been someone Amelia had wanted from the start. Someone she created so she had someone in her life who could be closer to her than her own parents. Someone who truly understood her. "I knew the day the Vidiian's tried to acquire my DNA what they would do with it and so I left more than simple cells behind. I left a piece of myself behind knowing that she would find me no matter what. It was apart of who she was, for us to be together, never apart. It's who we are. A breed between worlds, forever outcasts of both sides but we belong somewhere now." Amelia smiled back at Emily. "You belong."


End file.
